UAB Asgaard Property is a real estate company founded in Vilnius with more than thirty years experience in designing, constructing and investing in modern, multi-use properties including business parks, offices and restaurants.  Their recent collaboration with The Farmers Circle in opening two exciting new restaurant venues lead to some challenging design requirements.

Farmers Circle is a 600 hectare organic farm in the nearby Ukmerge district offering events, conference and experiences has a holistic “farm to fork philosophy” with nature and sustainability as its core values.This was to be sympathetically incorporated into the restaurant concepts – 14 Horses and Nineteen18 in Vilnius Old Town.

The brief

• A total of three kitchens were needed in addition to the bar area.  Ground floor prep kitchen, fine dining kitchen serving “14 Horses” on the first floor and finishing kitchen for the “Nineteen18” restaurant located on the second floor.
• The limited kitchen spaces with irregular walls and corners required carefully considered, custom-made fabrication.
• The cooking islands had to include drop-in appliances that exactly met the customer’s needs and requests, in terms of function and position.

The solution

• For both restaurants, the customer chose the compact and high performance Ambach System 700 product line, while the suite in the ground floor preparation kitchen was designed with Metos equipment, individually constructed on site due to the difficult stairs and narrow passages.
• Due to the same restrictions, the Ambach kitchens were also delivered in individual modules and welded on site by ambach technicians.
• In addition to the Ambach cooking appliances, Metos supplied combination ovens and salamander grills, along with two cold plates positioned above refrigerated tables.
• The design of the kitchen layout began in mid-2019 with supply in May 2020 (works inevitably delayed due to COVID).  The complex installation was completed in two months, opening as scheduled in August 2020.
• The installation of the equipment was carried out by Metos engineers under the close guidance of the Ambach aftersales team. Training on the correct use of the appliances was also followed by the Metos corporate chef.
• The customer was impressed throughout the planning and installation phases of this complex project and totally satisfied with the quality of the end result throughout.

Le Canard Nouveau is a destination restaurant for German gourmets. Housed in an impressive round building designed by the architect Meinhard von Gerkan, it offers a breath-taking view over the river Elbe. Awarded a Michelin star in 2006 with famous chef Ali Güngörmüs at the helm, the restaurant suffered a fire which led to its temporary closure and later total remodelling.
Le Canard Nouveau finally reopened in the spring of 2019, redesigned to look both simple and elegant at the same time.
Now the restaurant operates under the name of Norman Etzold, former chef with a Michelin star at the Palais Hansen Kempinski in Vienna. His cooking uses always fresh, seasonal ingredients, “so that the dishes are easy to explain to guests”, he claims.

The brief

• After the fire the kitchen needed a total overhaul, taking into account the fact that the existing fittings had to be adapted to the limited space available.
• “Originally it had been decided to move the walls and build one big kitchen but, after the fire, this was no longer possible. We had to find a partner able to help us make the most of the available space”, said Etzold.
• Le Canard worked with the distribution company Chefs Culinar to carry out the project.
• After several searches the choice fell on Ambach, the only company able to meet the high technology and flexibility standards necessary to meet the demands of the restaurant.

The solution

• The solution proposed by Ambach is a made-to-measure island from the System 850 line, which enabled full use of the available space while taking the chef’s needs into consideration.
• It was specifically Ambach’s extensive flexibility that allowed the kitchen to be designed with the utmost precision. The chef had very clear ideas about the equipment layout. “The oven had to be placed in a particular point and the plates had to be arranged the same way I had previously”, explained Etzold.
• To ensure speed and maximum productivity in the kitchen, the arrangement of the equipment and workstations along the island was optimally designed to reduce transit and allow staff to work efficiently and ergonomically.
• Optimisation of space and maximum functionality and much more. The Ambach island is open and has carefully crafted profiles.
• In black, “it has no sharp edges and a very sophisticated design”, said Etzold. “Also”, added the chef, “with the restaurant’s logo on the front it is truly perfect”.

Waldviertlerhof has been a byword for Viennese culture since 1842.
Originally known as ‘Georg-Passecker Steh-Weinhalle’, in 2015 it was extensively renovated through the efforts of the well-known Viennese restauranteurs Alexander and Sebastian Laskowsky.
Nowadays the excellent typical Viennese cuisine bears the signature of chef Stefan Hartl and is served in six different rooms, from the Zirbenstüberl to the Jägerstüberl and the veranda with over 250 places and the garden which can hold a further 200 covers.

The brief

• After more than 30 years of intensive use, the kitchen had to be remodelled and the various preparation areas redesigned to best meet the work requirements.
• The kitchen was originally divided by a wall, later demolished to connect the workstations around the central island and therefore make the most of the space available to staff. For this reason an integral part of the design brief was the need to provide different routes for the two workflows of the team in the kitchen and that in the dining area.
• Additionally, in view of the lack of use over the years of the “Zewirkaum” area, previously given over to game, it was necessary to create a kitchen for the preparations and, at the same time, adapt the store to current hygiene standards.
• There were several problems to manage, including the need to transport the new island through the narrow door of the building.

The solution

• To make best use of the space available and overcome the building’s structural limitations, a made-to-measure solution was needed. This led to the choice of the Ambach System 700 line in the hygiene version mounted on a masonry plinth.
• To allow transport through the entrance door, the new island was delivered dismantled in four parts, late welded together directly on site.
• As well as adapting old furnishings to the existing space, a temporary kitchen was installed to leave the restaurant always open throughout the period of the works.
• The design stage lasted around three months, while the renovation works lasted six weeks.
• The work was carried out with maximum cooperation between the team made up of the client, Hutterer Gastro-Systeme and Ambach.

Spazio Roma is a versatile and multifunctional restaurant that bears the signature of award-winning chef Niko Romito.
Located in the heart of the famous Parioli district in Italy’s capital, it represents an experiment that is unique of its kind. Although in line with Spazio, the catering format created in 2013 by the chef, the restaurant stands out from his restaurants in Milan and Rivisondoli in Abruzzo thanks to the exclusive combination of two ambiances – the restaurant Spazio and Pane e Caffè, the area used as bakery, cafeteria and cocktail bar, open all day, from morning to night.
Romito serves authentic Italian cuisine that offers a modern and original interpretation of tradition, focusing on lightness, genuine flavours and sophistication. “I try to offer customers at my restaurant, and Spazio Roma in particular, an authentic culinary experience, made of genuine flavours and tasty dishes, sometimes even very simple ones like bread, all made with the highest quality”, said Niko Romito.

The brief

• Italia Cibum, the company that owns Spazio Romito, needed to restructure the entire area given over to the restaurant. It was a rather atypical place and difficult to develop from an architectural standpoint. It was neither a historical building nor a place with special features. For this reason, it was necessary to rethink it in its entirety, also proposing a style that would give it personality and character.
• The biggest challenge in executing this project was the need to combine in the same space various eatery types, managing to create different atmospheres throughout the day. For this reason, in addition to the furnishings, lighting and materials used, the kitchen and the equipment supplied, which had to guarantee maximum flexibility and constant top performances, were definitely to play a key role.
• The chef had very specific needs and requests for his kitchen. Even in a limited space, it had to be well organised and include everything necessary to achieve fast and structured service for a total of around a hundred covers, divided between up between restaurant and bistro.

The solution

• To supervise the project, Italia Cibum created a work team with Studio Triplan, the architecture company that handled the design of the restaurant, and Grandimpianti Ali, a company specialising in turnkey projects in the world of professional catering.
• The extensive renovation works lasted from September 2017 to January 2018 and, in the final design, two distinct floors were created, namely:
  – the basement level where storage, the meal preparation area, the washing area and the bread and pastry bakery are located;
  – ground floor: for housing the main open kitchen serving the restaurant, a second washing area together with the bistro and the bakery at the entrance.
• “For the kitchen we proposed Ambach because it was absolutely the best choice for meeting all the chef’s needs,” said Alessandro D’Andrade, Grandimpianti’s sales director. A custom cooking island from the System 850 line with minimalist design stainless steel knobs and matte black RAL finishes chosen by the chef was suggested. It is a complete kitchen: the island is fitted with induction hobs, fry top with compound plate, pasta cooker and fryer, all integrated in a single hygienic top with 4 rounded corners.
• The single top has been divided into two parts and then shaped to measure so as to incorporate an existing column in the kitchen. In addition, a grille for resting pots and pans and a support for a salamander were fixed in the central stack.
• To avoid the problem of space, the cooking island was first brought into the room and, subsequently, the kitchen was created around it. The kitchen has been entirely made to measure and is organised with different preparation areas that follow the workflow of the chefs.
• Spazio Roma is certainly an important project because of the intrinsic special feature of the restaurant. Thanks to the excellent teamwork by Studio Triplan, Grandimpianti and Ambach, the end result is there for all to see: a high-performance and good-looking kitchen inside an area with a design carefully crafted in every detail.