Behind some of London’s most iconic dining experiences is a powerhouse of production that needs to run like clockwork. When you’re a leading restaurant group managing a portfolio that includes Michelin-starred menus and high-end Indian home delivery across Central London, your back-of-house needs to be world-class.
This is the story of a major hospitality group, a name synonymous with innovation in the UK food scene. Over the last five years, they’ve partnered with Dephna to move beyond traditional restaurant boundaries, using our London hubs to scale their production and house an ever-expanding bakery operation.
About Dephna
Dephna provides flexible commercial kitchens and storage solutions for food businesses at every stage of growth. We don’t just hand over a set of keys; we provide the infrastructure and on-site expertise to ensure your production is efficient, compliant, and ready to scale.
From start-ups finding their feet to established groups with multiple sites, we act as a silent partner, providing the space and the daily support that allows chefs to focus on the food while we handle the operational heavy lifting.
Client Overview
- Client Type: Multi-site restaurant group & delivery brand
- Length of Partnership: 5 years
- Number of Kitchens: 12 kitchens, including an entire wing dedicated to their bakery
- Primary Use: High-end production for 15+ restaurants and Michelin-quality delivery
The Challenge
Managing Growth Without Losing Quality
Managing a large-scale hospitality operation isn’t your average food business. With a huge chain of restaurants and a reputation for Michelin-level excellence, their production requirements are incredibly high. The challenge wasn’t just finding a kitchen; it was finding a space that could handle the complexity of a massive bakery expansion alongside a diverse range of restaurant prep.
The main hurdles they faced included:
- Finding a central London base capable of supporting 12 individual kitchen units.
- Scaling a bakery operation that required a dedicated “wing” of a building.
- Ensuring the infrastructure could handle the technical demands of high-volume, high-quality food production.
- Avoiding the “consultant trap” where outside advice doesn’t match the practical reality of the kitchen floor.
Finding the Right Space
Why They Chose Dephna
When a business reaches this level of scale, they need more than just a landlord; they need a team that understands the technical details, like piping and temperature control, that consultants often miss.
“We’ve had clients spending thousands on consultants to fit out a space, only for us to end up doing it anyway. Often, those consultants simply didn’t understand the specific requirements, like the exact piping needed for certain temperature controls. We know these units inside out.”
Brindha, Sales Director
For this client, Dephna offered the rare combination of massive capacity and a small-team feel that allowed for bespoke configurations.
Scaling Over Time
From Kitchens to a Bakery Wing
Over their 4–5 year tenure with Dephna, the group has significantly increased their footprint. What started as a partnership for delivery and prep has evolved into a massive production hub.
- 12 Kitchen Units: Supporting various brands under their umbrella.
- The Bakery Expansion: They took over an entire wing of our facility to house their growing bakery operations.
- Michelin Standards: Centralising the production of high-end components for their London restaurants.
Because we own and manage every site, we enabled seamless expansion without the client needing to search for new spaces, our London kitchen locations handled it all.
Expert Support and Technical Know-How
Moving Beyond the Basics
A major part of this success story is the technical alignment between their chefs and our facilities team. Many businesses make the mistake of hiring expensive consultants who don’t understand the physical constraints of a building. At Dephna, we help with:
- Infrastructure Accuracy: Ensuring power, water, and temperature requirements are met before the first tray of bread goes in the oven.
- Piping & Temp Control: Avoiding the costly mistakes of improper installation that can halt production.
- Space Optimization: Helping design a workflow across 12 kitchens that minimizes waste and maximizes output.
Day-to-Day Support
A Big Company with a Small Team Feel
Despite the scale of the operation, the daily relationship remains personal. The production team benefits from:
- A Dedicated Support Team: People who know their specific requirements by heart.
- On-Site Presence: Our team is on the ground every day to troubleshoot or assist.
- Agile Scaling: The ability to discuss expanding or modifying units as soon as the need arises.
Confidence to Expand
The Dephna Advantage
The most important thing we’ve given this group is the confidence to grow. When you know your cold storage is reliable, your kitchen units are built to spec, and a support team is 30 seconds away, you can focus on opening your next location.
By taking the guesswork out of facility management, they have been able to maintain their status as leaders in the London dining scene while running a massive, efficient production hub behind the scenes.
Looking to Scale Your Food Production?
Whether you’re looking for a single dark kitchen in London, a bespoke cold storage unit, or a dedicated wing for a large-scale bakery, Dephna provides the infrastructure for your success.
We offer flexible commercial kitchens for rent with the on-site support you need to scale without the stress.
Talk to our team today to be part of the Dephna family.
Author Information
This article was co-written by…
Raj, Managing Director
Raj is a Managing Director, bringing years of expertise in the food and commercial kitchen rental industry. With a focus on innovation and a deep understanding of business operations, Raj is committed to providing tailored solutions that help food entrepreneurs and start-ups succeed. Outside of work, Raj stays inspired by keeping up with the latest food industry developments.
