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The Jamie Oliver Cookery School in North London has a new multi-functional cookery school and event space which opened recently, ready for a busy schedule of cookery classes, supper clubs and events this year. 

The 500 square foot space was designed by London-based design consultancy, Studio Found, who also oversaw the implementation of the project, ensuring it was delivered on time and to budget. 

To meet Jamie’s brief of creating a functional, welcoming and flexible cookery school and events space, where guests would feel like they were cooking at home, Ed Plumb, design director at Studio Found and his team, designed a space that delivered a domestic kitchen feel with the functionality of commercial kitchen and dining area. 

To achieve this, a material palette that would withstand the typical high traffic usage of a commercial kitchen, while still maintaining a familiar ambiance of a home kitchen was chosen. 

Working closely with Jamie’s team, the design team at Studio Found selected rough sawn timber for the joinery, finished in a rich green to bring depth, colour and personality to the room, while the worktops were primarily brushed with functional stainless steel with an iroko timber lipping to soften them visually.  

A commercial extraction system also had to be discreetly fitted into the home-style kitchen to cater for the needs of up to 20 people cooking simultaneously in the space.  Studio Found worked closely with the HVAC contractor, FWP to deliver a solution that did the job without being too intrusive in the design. 

A large central island helped to create a home kitchen feel while offering a flexible communal place where guests can dine together during their lessons, and where supper clubs and events will be hosted.  The island also houses a chef’s station allowing guests to gather round and enjoy cooking demonstrations. 

Revitalising the existing parquet floor was also an important element of the design for Jamie, with Ed and his team bringing it back to life through staining and refinishing, to reconnect the new space with the older building it inhabits.  

“It was an exciting challenge to create this space for Jamie’s cookery school in North London,”said Ed Plumb, Studio Found.  “Jamie knew what he wanted and we had to design a space for him that was both commercially functional and flexible while also being homely and welcoming.  The design and the materials we chose reflected this brief and it is great that he and his team are happy with the end result.”