HCE Helps Blue Jasmine To Set Sail at Ocean Village Marina
Blue Jasmine is a stylish, fine dining restaurant set in the stunning waterside location of Southampton’s Ocean Village Marina. Delivering a delicious dining experience which combines authentic Southeast Asian flavours with quality British produce, Blue Jasmine’s menu celebrates local seasonal ingredients, while elevating the flavours of the east. Their philosophy is a simple one: to serve Asian gastronomy that’s been elevated to fine dining standards.
Blue Jasmine was the first fine dining concept for co-owner Phoebe Zhao and her husband and they set their standards high: “Blue Jasmine was our first fine dining restaurant and we wanted it to be perfect, so we researched a lot of kitchen design and project management companies and chose HCE as they had the best reputation and the best customers reviews.” The time Phoebe spent researching HCE has clearly paid off: “We started to work with HCE two years ago when the restaurant was an empty shell, and I can’t praise the HCE team enough. They’ve been very attentive and very patient, no matter how many changes we wanted. We always received a positive ‘no problem’ response from HCE.”
Phoebe added that: “It’s essential to work with an experienced design and project management company like HCE. As the owners, we have ideas, but HCE are the experts that take the ideas and offer solutions based on these. As we needed to combine traditional Asian cooking methods in our kitchen with Western techniques, their advice has been invaluable.
Daren Liew, Executive Chef had very clear aims for the kitchen at Blue Jasmine and worked closely with HCE to deliver his vision: “The design of the kitchen was very important for us as we needed a good flow between the different stations including the BBQ area, Starters and the Wok Cooking stations. The kitchen had to provide the volume we need, as on a busy weekend evening we can serve 350 covers – so it needed to optimise chefs’ productivity, by creating a comfortable working environment so they can concentrate on their tasks to achieve the consistently high standards we demand.”
“HCE became part of the team and took my briefs for the kitchen and made them a reality. Working with HCE has been fantastic and they provided all the assistance we required to deliver a kitchen all the chefs love working in.”
Creating a prestigious fine dining restaurant like Blue Jasmine from scratch involves the combined efforts of numerous stakeholders, from the owners, to architects, consultants through to the main construction contractor and HCE played a key role throughout the project as Phoebe highlights: “HCE co-ordinated seamlessly with the architects and all the parties involved to bring Blue Jasmine alive; from the design of the kitchen, which worked seamlessly, through to our front of house bar and terrace. The main contractor was very happy working with HCE as not only did HCE support and guide them through the design process – but the HCE team were always prompt and efficient responding to any issues they raised. It was real team effort.”
HCE’s project management skills also came to the fore during the installation phase as Phoebe explains: “The installation with HCE went smoothly as they always let us know beforehand what was going to happen, at what time and who would be on-site. It really helped our team to co-ordinate and stay in control.”
In addition to their kitchen design and project management services, HCE also offer comprehensive equipment servicing and maintenance contracts to ensure operators can maximise uptime – a service which has proved beneficial for Phoebe and the team at Blue Jasmine: “I remember one time when we had a problem with a key piece an equipment and the manufacturer wasn’t able to send anyone on site to fix it. HCE stepped in and sent their own engineer immediately, who fixed the problem straight away. We were extremely grateful as it kept us operating. HCE provides a perfect service and always goes the extra mile beyond want is contracted.” In a final thought about working with HCE, Phoebe enthused: “I would rate the final kitchen design and service from HCE as 10 or maybe 9.5 (only joking). I would 100% recommend HCE to other restaurateurs and operators.”
