Masterchef

MasterChef UK

We won the design tender for MasterChef UK's newest kitchen set, with a brief that went beyond the build itself, we handled the full move into their brand new studios in Birmingham, then reimagined the space as an industrial-loft kitchen rooted in its new home. We drew directly on Digbeth's local architecture, its warm brick tones, weathered ironwork and characterful window details, and wove them into the set alongside blackened steel trusses and a mezzanine gallery framing the action from above, so every angle tells the story of a working kitchen rather than a soundstage.

At the heart of it sit the contestant stations themselves: mobile, wood-clad units on castors with illuminated MasterChef-blue panels that glow against the warmer tones of the room. We designed them to move as easily as the format demands, reconfiguring for challenges without ever breaking the sense of a real, cohesive kitchen. Open shelving styled with copper pans, ceramics and greenery softens the steel and brick, giving the whole set a collected-over-time feel rather than a built-in-a-week one.

Lighting was where form met function most closely. Warm pendant bulbs and soft neon accents sit alongside the rigged studio grid overhead, so the set reads beautifully to camera while still giving the production crew the coverage they need.

Our brief didn't stop at the kitchen doors. We also designed the spaces around it, the contestants' breakout area, a bustling marketplace, and a brand new outdoor kitchen, each carrying the same Digbeth-inspired character through to give the whole studio a consistent, considered feel. We also redesigned the show's Critics' Dining space, giving that pivotal moment in every episode a setting worthy of the verdicts delivered in it. The result is a space built to perform on screen night after night, and one we're proud to have brought to life.