http://www.ekbbusiness.co.uk/site/headline_article.php?id=1849

The £500,000 project is providing a further jobs and tourism boost to the north-east of Scotland.

The new Aberdeen Cook School has been a passionate desire of Nick’s for several years and is located in a stunning listed building, formerly St Nicholas Kirk’s old church hall in the city centre, which has been transformed into two separate state-of-the-art foodie havens.

Work on the building has been carefully designed to enhance original features such as the carved mouldings and stained glass windows, alongside striking white and stainless steel kitchen areas, designed by Kitchens International.

The new cook school follows on from the success of the Nick Nairn Cook School in Port of Menteith, near Stirling.

Nick said: “We have a disproportionate number of people coming to our existing school from the north-east, so an Aberdeen school seemed a natural progression.  Also, the north-east is a farming community and some of the finest produce comes from here.

“We have found that cooking enthusiasts from this area are passionate about developing their skills and particularly enjoy entertaining at home.  They can commit time to learning due to their working patterns and disposable incomes.”

Nick will also be trialling a brand new venture in the new cook school, with after-work and lunchtime classes at its Quick Cook Bar. This is a new urban concept, where participants can cook, learn and eat in two hours, picking up invaluable tuition from basic knife skills to creating culinary masterpieces.

Nick said: “It will be perfect for people who work during the day. You can pop in after work or do it over a long lunch-break. It’s also an affordable place for students to come along and learn to cook for themselves.”

The Aberdeen Cook School is employing 10 people, as well as two well-known chefs heading up Nick’s team. Head chef Kenny Smart, who joins from the prestigious 1906 restaurant at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen, will run the large teaching kitchen upstairs.  The Quick Cook Bar area downstairs will be overseen by Louise Chapman, previously restaurant co-ordinator for the hugely successful Taste Festivals.

Nick will also teach classes on dedicated days as well as the cook school’s established chef John Webber.  John brings more that three decades of knowledge and experience having trained with Anton Eddelman and Anton Mossiman before being awarded his own Michelin accolades in the country house hotels he previously worked in before joining forces with Nick twelve years ago.

While upstairs at the Aberdeen Cook School will hold full-day classes for 24 people, the ground floor level will also feature a cook shop, selling essential kitchen kit from a £5 heatproof spatula to a £3,000 Falcon range cooker – and absolutely no dust gathering gadgets.

The new Nick Nairn Aberdeen Cook School also makes an exceptional private hire venue with bespoke options including Nick available. Various gift cards are available for classes as unique, thoughtful presents.

The Aberdeen cook school will be open to the public from Saturday 12 May while classes start from Sunday 20 May and are available to book now via www.nicknairncookschool.com or by calling 01877 389 900

Nick Nairn gave hands on series of demonstrations, tips and techniques to a VIP audience throughout the day. With some of the latest British and German kitchens on display, along with hi-tech appliances, Nick and his team from the Nick Nairn Cookschool showed how KI kitchens work in the home and the benefits of such sleek and elegant designs.

The new showroom at 16-18 Princes St, Perth is 140 sq metres and contains three kitchen displays. This includes a sleek high gloss white and antricite grey Paneel 40/Classic FS/Avance Leicht kitchen, a contemporary Sand Grey and Stone Oak Leicht kitchen and a more traditional Callerton Barbican Walnut and Antique White kitchen (above). There is also be a huge range of high tech appliances from Siemens, Vzug, Wolf and SubZero with a full range of steam ovens, wine storage, warming drawers, induction and teppan yaki hobs. There is a good choice of worktops including Corian, granite and Silestone with new taps and sinks from American manufacturer Kohler.

The showroom shows the latest in handleless kitchens, LED low energy lighting, islands, smart storage options, cooking/dining configurations and multi media units. Most items are working displays so customers can get a real feel for the practicalities of KI kitchens.

Paul O’Brien, Business Development Director of Kitchens International said: “In these tough times it is hard for a business to expand but at KI we are passionate about offering as many people as possible across Scotland and beyond access to our aspirational kitchens and exceptional design service. Perth and Tayside are a key area for us and this new showroom will allow us to service central Scotland and the north from a beautiful showroom. With highly competitive prices, a huge portfolio of products, great design service, experienced installers and a meticulous aftercare team we believe we are offering the people of Perth something unique in kitchens.”

Nick Nairn added: “Kitchens International have pioneered the quality kitchen market in Scotland and this new showroom shows the success of their team in being able to expand and gives confidence to the Scottish interiors market. My team and I love using the KI kitchens as they are practical, functional and look fantastic and make cooking great fun!”
- Ends -
Kitchens International:
East Mains Industrial Estate Denmore Rd 220 Gt Western Rd
11 Youngs Rd Bridge of Don Glasgow G4 9EJ
Broxburn EH46 5LY Aberdeen AB23 Tel: 0141 404 7744
Tel: 0845 0740022 Tel: 01224 824300

24 Westfield Rd 117 Dundas St 16-18 Princes St
Murrayfield Edinburgh EH3 Perth PH2 8NG
Edinburgh EH11 2QB Tel: 0131 523 0477 Tel: 01738 639090
Tel: 0131 337 3434
www.kitchensinternational.co.uk

For photography or further press information, please contact:
Fenella Taylor at Fenella Taylor PR
Tel: 01389 830390 Mobile: 07721 324696
Email: fenella@fenellataylorpr.co.uk

There were so many decisions to be made throughout the process. “You’ve just laid the foundations, but then you have to choose your kitchen and bathrooms, and all you have is a one-dimensional paper plan,” Stephanie says. While the couple had a vision for their home, they also visited developers’ showhomes looking for new ideas and inspiration on finishes. After admiring a cream-and-walnut-finish kitchen, they consulted designer Carol Cameron of Kitchens International, who added distinctive touches such as the curved walnut breakfast bar on the island.

Stephanie chose the striking “Celestial” Elica extractor after seeing it featured on Grand Designs. “That’s our one bit of bling,” she admits, while Ryan’s must-have was the integrated Sonos music system.

The kitchen design illustrates the couple’s commitment to a contemporary aesthetic and to the quality of the finished product. As Ryan says: “You can get carried away with the building, but if you don’t get the internal finish right it doesn’t work. We were conscious of cost, but we had to get the product right and the quality right.” This approach is evident in the selection of fittings and finishes throughout, from the Duravit bathroom fittings (most of the bathroom fittings came from Victor Paris) to the contemporary Scan stove in the sitting room, which they sourced from the Scottish Stove Centre after spotting the design in a magazine.

For full feature:

http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/scotland/interiors-the-lothians-perfect-house-didn-t-exist-so-they-built-it-themselves-1-2278884

After seeking planning consent to change the size and configuration of the house originally allocated to the plot, Audrey and Graeme set about dramatically changing its interior. While the Georgian-style exterior of the house had to remain consistent with other properties on the estate, the couple opted for an entirely contemporary interior. In keeping with their love of open-plan living, ideal for family life, the entire ground floor is designed to flow from one area to another, with the kitchen-living room at the centre of the home.

“We wanted the entire house to feel spacious and full of light” explains Audrey. One of their very first decisions was to add an orangery to the kitchen area, enlarging the room and flooding the space with natural light, and also providing beautiful views over the garden and golf course beyond. “In such a large room, I knew a dramatic kitchen design would work well” says Audrey, who paid a visit to Kitchens International’s Edinburgh showroom to meet director Kevin Buchanan. “It was clear that Audrey wanted a real show-stopper for her kitchen” recalls Kevin.

“In a large space, an all-cream or all-white kitchen can look insipid, and black is a much bolder choice. It creates impact and adds definition to a big room”. Glossy black acrylic Parapan cabinetry forms the substantial island and tall units along the rear wall, while a section of aluminim doors topped with silver-coloured glass forms the “wet area” at the side”. “I love the combination of black, silver and cream” says Audrey. “All the reflective surfaces bounce light around the room, so it always feels bright in here – and I love the way that Kevin added blue lights to the plinth around the island, because they create a really magical feel at night”.

Poggenpohl PP kitchen furniture with glossy black Parapan doors creates a dramatic impact in this large kitchn. A substantial island, topped in Zodiaq Charcoal Black, makes the main prep and serving area, while the sink zone is clad in real aluminium with an etched green glass worktop.