Case study · Clubs & community
St John's Church, Chatham
Church kitchen Chatham — all-electric kitchen and bespoke servery for a Chatham church, fitted in three weeks as part of a £4m restoration of the listed building.
Client
Coniston
Location
Chatham, Kent
Project value
£50k–£100k
Build time
3 weeks
The brief
Church kitchen Chatham: all-electric kitchen and servery inside a listed church
St John's Church in Chatham reopened after a £4m restoration of the listed building. Consequently, heritage main contractor Coniston appointed Kent Commercial Kitchens to deliver the catering element: an all-electric kitchen and a bespoke servery to support community use of the restored space.
Because the building is listed, gas was ruled out, so the kitchen was specified electric throughout, with induction at the cooking line. Our package covered the extraction system, UPVC hygienic wall cladding, safety vinyl flooring, and a bespoke servery counter built to suit the room and the way the church would use it. All of it had to be installed within the wider restoration programme and to a standard fit for a heritage setting.
What we did
Electric throughout, fitted in three weeks
All-electric cooking line
Specifically, with no gas in the building, the cooking line was built around Lincat electric equipment and induction hobs, set beneath a prep canopy with a hot cupboard for holding at service. In particular, a clean, low-maintenance line suited to community catering and volunteer use.
Bespoke servery counter
Additionally, we designed and built a bespoke L-shaped servery counter with integrated storage, sized and finished for the room. Also, zip water boilers for hot drinks, Hoshizaki refrigeration and ice, and a layout that lets the church serve large numbers quickly from a single counter.
Extraction, cladding and flooring
Furthermore, a full extraction system was installed over the cooking line, Jemiclad UPVC hygienic wall cladding through the kitchen, and Polyflor safety vinyl flooring laid and coved. Additionally, maidaid warewashing completed the wash-up. Therefore, hard-wearing, hygienic finishes throughout.
Inside a £4m heritage restoration
Specifically, the kitchen and servery were installed as part of Coniston's £4m restoration of the listed church. As a result, we sequenced our works around the heritage programme and held a three-week installation so the catering facilities were ready for the building's reopening.
Equipment specified
Specified all-electric for a community church
- Lincat electric cooking and induction — cooking line
- Maidaid warewashing
- Zip water boilers — beverage service
- Hoshizaki refrigeration and ice
- Jemiclad UPVC hygienic wall cladding
- Polyflor safety vinyl flooring
The installation
From bare room to finished servery
The outcome
Completed and in community use
In summary, the kitchen and servery at St John's are complete and in use, supporting community activity in the restored church. The full package, all-electric cooking line, bespoke servery, extraction, cladding and flooring, was delivered in three weeks within Coniston's £4m restoration of the listed building. A single catering contractor handled design, build and installation, coordinated throughout with the heritage works around it.
- CEDA Member The Catering Equipment Distributors Association — UK's voice for foodservice equipment specialists.
- ISO 9001 · 14001 · 45001 Certified The only Kent commercial kitchen design-and-install firm certified to all three.
- F-Gas Certified Certified to handle and install refrigerants in commercial refrigeration and cooling equipment.
- Gas Safe Registered All commercial gas installations carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers.
- Part of Advantage Catering Equipment Kent's design, supply and service specialists since 2003.
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