The new Yuppiechef HQ

Back in January 2011 Yuppiechef HQ was relatively little. We kicked off last year with eight people in our team, one person on phones and a warehouse that was more like a really big cupboard. In March 2011 we moved to bigger offices to accommodate our growing brood (watch our office move video) and by October, with a lot more space on our hands, the time had come for renovations to pimp our new home.

Yuppiechef HQ has three main sections: our workspace, the mighty warehouse and our shiny new test kitchen, all of which were to undergo some exciting changes.

At Yuppiechef we do the majority of our work in house – from advertising, design and photography to warehousing and web development – so creating a space that encourages collaboration and interdependent working was key. Robert Scott Architects helped us with the design and Tricon Renovators and Painters ably did their thing.

Shane Dryden, one of our founders and product director, has been dreaming about a test kitchen at Yuppiechef HQ since the beginning of time and was the champion behind the vision.

We wanted something inspiring, clean and beautiful for our test kitchen but most importantly it had to be accessible so when people see a recipe that is shot in the test kitchen they think, ‘Hey, I could do that.”

Mark Rossi from the Kitchen Emporium helped us design a light, modern kitchen in white, oak and aluminium. The neutral back space behind the Caesar Stone island ensures our kitchen tools are key features.

People say the kitchen is the heart of the home and it’s true here at Yuppiechef HQ. The test kitchen has quickly become our favourite gathering spot. It’s where we shoot our products and recipes for Spatula print and Spatula.co.za but, most importantly, it’s where we get together for social teas, lunching and table-tennis.

One thing we knew we wanted way before the renovations began was a proper kitchen table – the kind that easily accommodates last minute friends and family and encourages long lunches and sitting down to eat together. As our numbers have swelled to 27 we’ve had to settle for three tables but are chuffed as chips that our dream of sitting down to eat together has been realised.

The brief for our new office space was to design a space that was light, spacious, conducive to collaborative work and for it to feel like it was our own. We worked closely with Interior Designer, Kyle Bennett, from bennettondesign who had this to say about the project:

When it comes to creativity, this dynamic team can certainly hold their own. The Yuppiechef brand needed to reflect in their working environment. While still meeting the practical requirements of a working office, the design of the new space aims to allow employees to express their individuality; encourage co-worker interaction and enhance personal job-satisfaction.” Thanks for your work, Kyle. We love it.

One of the things we like is the bunch of names sandblasted onto the glass wall in our customer service area, created to pay homage to our first two hundred customers ever.

It’s been but a few months since our offices were completed but it’s already hard to remember a time when we didn’t have a dedicated space for social teas, quiet rooms for meetings and a spacious desk for everyone.

A big thanks and high five to everyone involved in the making of the new Yuppiechef HQ. For a further sneak peek, watch our office tour video:

Suppliers and partners: Tricon Painters and Renovators, Robert Scott Architects, Kyle Black, Eagle Lighting, Holly Wood, All Office Furniture, The Kitchen Emporium, SMEG appliances, Coricraft (kitchen tables), James Mudge (kitchen stools) and Sign-a-rama.