LU BAN RESTAURANT
Lu Ban Restaurant in Liverpool focuses on traditional Tianjin cooking. It is an elegant and modern setting which offers a unique experience with an exquisite array of dining options including small plates, tasting menus and Tianjin banquets.
The project is teamed up with Tianjin Food Group in China, with the mission to educate in terms of Chinese culinary arts. Lu Ban is a commercial restaurant with a training centre integrated into it which offers a Chinese culinary arts programme which students, chefs and the general public can enrol on. Education is also at the heart of the dining experience of the restaurant as there is an element of storytelling throughout the menu, with each dish having its own story behind it which relates to the experiences in Tianjin; therefore allowing guests to educate themselves on Tianjin culture whilst dining.
OUR BRIEF
Our brief was to design and provide a kitchen, chefs tables, bar, dishwash area and 'food lab'. The kitchen was to be designed in the style of the kitchens in Tianjin, with an open plan feel and was to include specific equipment which came directly from China.
The kitchen was also to feature a chef's table for specialist dining experiences, it was therefore imperative that the kitchen itself was extremely aesthetically pleasing as well as functional as it would be on display.
THE DESIGN
The kitchen itself was designed to be open plan and in the style of a Tianjin kitchen. The kitchen is all designed around a feature island suite. The island suite was designed to incorporate a speciality induction wok burner which was to be supplied directly from China and is designed and manufactured by a partner of Lu Ban based in China.
This was a unique, challenging project involving a very carefully considered design which has given the restaurant a kitchen capable of producing their exceptional menu.
AWARD WINNING
We were extremely proud to win the award for the Design Project £200K-£500K category at the ceda Grand Prix Awards for our work at Lu Ban Restaurant.
