The Marriott Worsley Park Hotel and Country Club, a luxury hotel set in the 200 acre former home of the Duke of Bridgewater, has carried out an extensive refurbishment of its restaurant 'The Dining Rooms'.  Working directly with Marriott, it demonstrates Vision's continuing and impressive work in the Hotel and Leisure sector.

What is your role at the Marriott Worsley Park Hotel?

Due to the scale of the project at the hotel I was brought in specifically as the food and drink project manager. My main responsibility was to manage the whole project including the refurbishment of the restaurant. This involved working closely with the hotel manager and head chef to develop the new concept as well as seeing it through refurbishment.

How did you get Vision involved in the project?

Initially Vision had been sourced by Ian Lomas our Director of Engineering; he had worked with them previously so when I joined the team Vision were already involved and had come up with some really original ideas so I took it from there.  They were completely responsible for the design and installation of the island buffet counter and two mobile ambient display units - a key part of the restaurant refurbishment.

So Vision were involved in the planning process as well as the installation?

We actually worked very closely together; it was myself and Vision who came up with the design of the area. As a result we now have a central island whereas before it was more of an 'L' shaped design. We wanted something much more contemporary but still in keeping with the look and feel of the hotel. Vision were heavily involved in the both the planning and the installation and their experience has proven to be invaluable.

What were you trying to achieve with the refurbishment?

Previously the restaurant had a very rustic feel with solid oak beams but we wanted to create a more contemporary British feel with hard wood floors, and a focus on locally sourced produce. We were keen to ensure the island buffet counter fitted in with that concept rather than just having the buffet in the back corner. The idea was to bring it into the forefront of the restaurant to create a focal point that was aesthetically pleasing and one that the chef could be involved with. With the central buffet area the chef is now facing the guests as they walk in and we have the mobile display units to create movable islands. The island design and mobile units prevent bottle necks so during
busy periods we get away from having one long queue at the buffet and have stations where guests can wander around and choose their food.

Is the buffet area used regularly?

The area is used daily at breakfast time, again if we have conferences at lunch and we also use the area for the Sunday carvery so it's used quite heavily. We also had the idea to host live cooking demonstrations with chefs in the evening as the area is perfect.  Due to the design of the restaurant it is possible to close off certain areas.  The chefs private dining area works really well. Then behind the central island we have refrigerated units and additional storage space. We have two induction hobs for the omelette breakfast which are multipurpose as we are also able to fit the carvery units in for Sunday lunch. The central island provides storage and refrigeration as well as hand wash stations, so from the chefs point of view it's really practical and flexible but at the same time it's great in terms of environmental health.