back to case studies

Case Study

Alice Holt Forest Cafe

Location: Farnham 
Completion Date: August 2025
Project Value: Approx. £50,000
Services Provided: Commercial Kitchen Equipment, Kitchen Ventilation Canopy, Front of House Furniture, Servery, Full Supply, Fabrication, Consolidation, Installation, Commissioning & Handover

Visit Website

 

 

 

Details

Set within Alice Holt Forest. The Cafe features a nature inspired
interior and emphasizes sustainable practices.

Design a Small Commercial Kitchen

overview

Alice Holt Forest Café, located within the Forestry England visitor site near Farnham, required a kitchen upgrade to support increased visitor numbers and expand its food offering. Grey Simmonds Food Service Equipment were appointed to supply and install a durable, high-capacity kitchen designed specifically for a busy café environment serving both locals and tourists.

challenge

The key challenge for this project was delivering a high-performance commercial kitchen within an existing compact footprint, while ensuring equipment selection supported speed, reliability, and volume. The café required increased cooking capacity, better workflow, enhanced display refrigeration and front-of-house retail appeal — all without extending the existing footprint or disrupting service for long periods.

services provided

  • Commercial kitchen design and supply

  • Front of house furniture

  • Bespoke stainless steel fabrication

  • Delivery and logistics management

  • Support and specification based on operational requirements

result

The upgraded kitchen provides Alice Holt Forest Café with a high-volume, energy-efficient cooking platform, improved refrigeration and retail display capacity, and a much more functional workflow for staff.

The combination of Rational combi technology, dual fryers and efficient warewashing ensures the café can handle high-demand periods, especially peak seasonal footfall. The two new multidecks significantly enhance the grab-and-go retail offering, helping increase dwell time and spend per visitor.

Overall, the project has delivered a future-proofed, commercially capable café kitchen with improved productivity, better storage, and a more professional foodservice offering to support the forest’s growing visitor base.

client feedback

“The new kitchen has transformed how we operate. Service is faster, storage is better organised, and the multidecks have already helped increase grab-and-go sales. Grey Simmonds were helpful from design to delivery, and the equipment is performing brilliantly

behind the scenes