Our Little Black Book

Borough Kitchen

We first met Justin Kowbel and David Caldana in 2019 when they approached us to design a kitchen for their first cookware store and cook school in Islington. With the fifth Borough Kitchen store recently unveiled in Battersea Power Station, which also boasts a bespoke Rencraft kitchen, it is a pleasure to know that so many budding chefs and foodies are enjoying our handcrafted furniture on a daily basis.

As our MD, John sums up so well, “Borough Kitchen’s values are very similar to our own, with a shared focus on quality, longevity and functionality. As a team, we approached designing their cook school and test kitchen in the same way we approach all our projects, by getting to know the client and working with them to create two carefully considered designs which not only meet but exceed expectations.”

Robin Read at The Counter

When Robin Read opened the doors to The Counter we couldn’t have been more delighted to welcome our new neighbour to Calverley Road and it has been our pleasure to invite him to cook for us at our showrooms on a number of occasions.

Having trained under some of the best chefs in the country, Robin went on to work at the 3 Michelin starred Chez Nico and Le Gavroche before becoming Head Chef at Mirabelle and The Soho Hotel.

Now based in Tunbridge Wells, Robin is satisfying his passion for sourcing the best produce in Britain & has hunted down the best you can find in Kent, striving to meet all his suppliers and visiting every farm, river, warehouse or barn. At The Counter Robin takes from all aspects of his experience and works with the seasons to craft an exquisite dining experience using the best local produce in a simple yet creative way.

3 Sisters

Tom Duffill worked in London for over 15 years, cooking at some of the UK’s best restaurants, cutting his teeth with mentor Anthony Demetre and Will Smith at Arbutus & Wild Honey. Spending many years with them, he then went on to become head chef at the acclaimed Arbutus, holding a Michelin star, 4 AA Rosettes & was included in the Top 10 of UK Restaurant Awards and voted Best Restaurant of the Year.

3 Sisters is run by Tom and his wife, Becky who work closely with Chart Farm. The concept began as a lockdown project to keep busy and has continued to evolve and grow over the years, as Tom explains: “3 Sisters has gone from strength to strength over the past few years. We started with an idea of serving a few customers each week, using local seasonal food that we grow, procure and wanted to eat, to opening a dining space to showcase our food and add another layer to our business and cook for more guests.”

To find out more about the 3 Sisters’ Supper Club, their Dining at Home menus and events, just click below. You have our word for it – Tom’s food is absolutely delicious!

Lucy Clayton

Kent-based Lucy Clayton is inspired by the world around her, namely sea life, nature and food, which she conveys through her exceptional talent for combining watercolour painting with printmaking techniques.

Many of the subjects she paints are connected to personal experiences and she is particularly interested in how our senses can create strong memories through taste, texture, and smell which is exactly why her work is perfect for homes and, more specifically, kitchens!

We have a number of Lucy’s works hanging in our showrooms in Tunbridge Wells, either as stand-alone pieces or as a trio to fill a larger wall space. We especially love this piece, “Raspberry Palaver” which can be seen in our Italian Kitchen and is the perfect complement to the soft pink and pastel blue hues of the Shaker-style cabinetry and even gives a nod to the inspiration behind the room and the Carrara marble worktops with Lucy’s inclusion of a small meringue – an Italian meringue, we assume!

Buster & Punch

Beginning life building custom motorbikes out of a garage in East London, Buster & Punch is now a big hitter in the world of exquisite, contemporary design and no stranger to the world of Hollywood, and the Selling Sunset offices of the Oppenheim Group. When we were designing our super-sleek penthouse kitchen, office space and cocktail bar in our award-winning showrooms, the solid metal elegance of the Buster & Punch handles, knobs and lighting worked perfectly with the contemporary look and we love how they blend seamlessly with our handmade cabinetry, as well as elements we incorporated from SieMatic.

From cabinet and door hardware, to switches and sockets, lighting and even dog bowls and beyond, Buster & Punch is a great addition to any room in your home. Why not come and take a look at how we’ve used some of their collections in our very own 81, The Penthouse in our Tunbridge Wells showrooms.

Chris Prindl

Chris Prindl is a firm favourite of our Managing Director, John Stephens who grew up in North Cornwall and not far from Chris’s pottery near Bodmin. John rarely misses an opportunity to pop in and see Chris and his latest collections, as well as snap up a few pieces for our showrooms in Kent.

Chris is inspired by the rugged beauty and freedom of Cornwall which he uses to create his Japanese-style pots having spent some of his childhood living in Tokyo before going on to study Japanese at Princeton and later returning to Japan to take up an apprenticeship with Okazaki Takao in Yamagata. Now living back in Cornwall, Chris creates pieces for Nathan Outlaw and his renowned restaurants in Port Isaac, as well as ceramic bottles for Cornish gin maker, Tarquin’s.

If you’d like to see some of Chris’s work on display a little closer to home, then feel free to pop in to our Tunbridge Wells showrooms and take a look for yourself.