Walker and Son, Charnwood Bakery

ABDA Design Consultants Ltd

When Walker & Son, part of the £1.6 billion Samworth Brothers group, needed a full refurbishment of its staff restaurant and kitchen at the Charnwood Bakery in Leicester, ABDA Design was selected through a competitive pitch process—thanks to a longstanding client relationship and a concept that reflected both the bakery’s industrial roots and the surrounding natural history of Charnwood Forest.

The brief was clear: create a future-ready commercial kitchen, theatre servery, and dining space that could support a growing food offering while improving the day-to-day experience for a 24/7 workforce. Just as critical was keeping the business running throughout the works. ABDA supported this by helping the client secure temporary facilities and coordinating around shift schedules and food production operations.

With a tight eight-week timeline and a live site operating around the clock, ABDA’s full project team worked in lockstep to manage all aspects of the build. The scope included complete design development, kitchen and front-of-house fit-out, equipment procurement, CDM compliance, cost control, site coordination, and handover.

Key Delivery Highlights:

• Theatre kitchen design enhanced engagement and visibility, with a bespoke CED servery counter fabricated and refined on the shop floor with the client and design team present.
• Flexible, modern kitchen layout supported expanded menus and higher throughput with new cooking, washware, and refrigeration equipment from trusted partners including Rational, Lincat, Electrolux, Foster, and Williams.
• Ventilation and fire suppression systems were upgraded by Corsair and Equipro to meet evolving safety and performance standards.
• Sustainability-focused finishes from Protocol, Forbo, Formica, and Solus aligned with ABDA’s environmental values.
• Seamless waste removal and deliveries were scheduled around tight security protocols, peak shifts, and permit restrictions—all while maintaining hygiene and safety on a live food production site.

Unexpected strip-out issues—from uneven partition walls to previously unknown fire-stopping gaps—required fast problem-solving and extra collaboration with contractors, building control, and the client. ABDA’s team stayed hands-on and agile, visiting site regularly and working in tandem with the principal contractor, 6am Studios.

A 643-page O&M manual, equipment specs, drawing packs, and a tightly managed variation log ensured full transparency and long-term value. Despite challenges, the project was delivered on time and within revised budget, earning praise from GEA’s project manager and sparking over £1 million in follow-up work with the client.

This was a true team effort—planned with precision, built with flexibility, and delivered with care.