Temporary Kitchen at Chelsea Arts Club

PKL helped a popular members club refurbish their kitchens with an innovative temporary kitchen installation, allowing it to create an impressive Greek popup for its grateful members.

The 120-year-old Chelsea Arts Club provides sanctuary and succour to the arts community in central London. Its 4,000 members know that they will find good friends, great company and sublime food whenever they walk through the door.

So the club leadership were concerned with what they would do when they began a badly-needed three month kitchen refurbishment in early 2017.

The small road in which the club sits and a lack of access to the property’s garden made finding a space for a temporary kitchen even more of a challenge.

The Club contacted PKL after recommendations from its kitchen designers and project managers.

“It was clear we could have confidence in PKL,” said Geoffrey Matthews, secretary and chief executive of the club, “From the first contact we had with PKL I can’t speak highly enough of the service we’ve received. The initial contact was straightforward, someone came to see us and we very quickly identified the type of installation we needed.”

Working with the head chef and a leading kitchen designer, PKL specified and planned a two-bay kitchen, providing detailed drawings and elevations to give the club confidence. PKL also coordinated a detailed installation plan that included a road closure and 130 tonne crane.

“It’s a really remarkable thing to think the team installed this kitchen in the garden of a building with only one small door and no other street access,” said Geoffrey. “We were in the hands of PKL’s project manager Ted, and we were delighted because he was simply second to none.

“The staff has enjoyed working in the PKL kitchens since day one and there have been very few issues. Whenever we had a question or problem I called our PKL project manager, and he was always happy to help. Our refurbishments have been going on for a while, and we’ve dealt with more than 40 contractors, PKL’s was one of the very best I have come across. The experience of using PKL has been a pleasure thanks to their expertise and customer service values.”

The club decided to make the most of the opportunity provided by the new temporary installation, creating a Greek ‘pop-up’ style experience with a Mezze menu. The club called upon the artistic skills of their members to decorate the kitchens to create a bright, summery look.

“Our members have really appreciated the food offer we’ve put in front of them during this time,” said Geoffrey “I’m so pleased we used PKL for this refurbishment. I’m not sure what we would have done without them.”