Kitchen Hire at New College, Oxford

During a major £7million refurbishment of New College Oxford’s 14th century buildings, a temporary kitchen and dining facility was required to maintain a continuous meal service to students and staff members.

For the College it was essential to maintain a high standard of dining environment and to keep the temporary facility’s interior environment as similar to existing buildings as possible. One of the solutions was to replicate the wooden panelling of the College’s dining hall inside the temporary dining facility, which retained the style of the college’s own 14th century surroundings.

The logistics of the delivery, of the temporary facilities, were challenging as the College is located in the centre of the city. The facility was to be sited at Holywell Quad which was only accessible via a narrow archway.

The large kitchen and dining facility was delivered in modular segments then craned onto site and assembled to generate a large, comprehensive catering facility.

Brian Cole, the Colleges Catering Manager, commented that; “The project has exceeded all expectations, in no little part due to the professionalism and expertise of contractors such as PKL. Their temporary kitchen may not have to last seven centuries like our permanent one but it’s giving great service. It has surpassed all expectations and is a great facility to work in.”