Tuk Cho success marks start of exciting year for North East company

News that Tuk Cho, a South East Asian street food market concept that has recently developed for the UK's leading restaurant and pub operator, Mitchells & Butlers plc (M&B), has had a successful launch in Ealing, London.

It is the first new dining concept for a number of years from M&B, which employs around 40,000 staff and operates almost 1,600 restaurants and pubs, trading under 13 key brands which include Toby Carvery, All Bar One, Harvester and Vintage Inns. The launch of Tuk Cho forms part of M&B’s strategy to diversify its food sales.

The opportunity to work with M&B came after Dakota approached its brand development team last year. After securing the opportunity to make a presentation, they were asked if they would be interested in taking part in a competitive pitch to design a new South East Asian dining concept.

Dakota's managing director, Peter Hodgson, says:

"We were absolutely delighted to be asked to take part. I had lived in Australia and worked in South East Asia for a while and was familiar with the whole street dining and market place experience in places such as Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia, so this really helped in shaping our design concepts.

"The vibrancy of these small street dining stalls comes from the range of fresh produce on offer with its vivid colours, while the locations themselves reflect a more neutral backdrop of timber and concrete so we went for a similar stripped back approach in our design solution. Mitchells & Butlers did not want the look to be overly themed but as real as possible, so we focused on getting the internal sensory experience right, rather than focusing on the external appearance. It was a risk, but it paid off for us."

In early 2011, M&B abandoned its bid for the Asian restaurant chain, Tampopo, in favour of developing this concept.

Caroline Morris, Tuk Cho development manager, added: "We identified an opportunity within the Asian cuisine category and believe Tuk Cho will allow us to extend our reach to a new group of diners who are relatively young and eat out regularly. We also wanted to be accessible to families with a fresh, healthy but authentic food and drink offer and an adventurous yet accessible range of flavours.

"Dakota's Tuk Cho concept really hits the mark and we are delighted with initial feedback on the first outlet."

Dakota is committed to using North East suppliers whenever possible in its work and Tuk Cho was no exception with Jonsigns, Architectural Metalwork, the North East Timber Flooring Company and Artistix, all playing prominent roles in delivering the concept at the pilot venue in Ealing.

The consultancy, owned by husband and wife team, Peter and Deborah Hodgson, who qualified at Northumbria University and Newcastle College respectively, builds on the pair’s combined 50+ years of interior design, architectural, illustration and project management services.

Notes to editor:

Dakota works for a broad range of private and corporate clients within the leisure, retail and hospitality industries including Bannatynes, Barker & Stonehouse and Jury’s Inn.

With additional offices in Nottingham, Spain and Dubai, 2011 also saw a new Shanghai office established to take advantage of the many property development projects emerging there.

For more information contact Philippa Clothier or Leigh Chelton at Clothier Lacey & Co on 0191 273 9897 or philippa.clothier@clothierlacey.co.uk / leigh.chelton@clothierlacey.co.uk

TUK CHO- Terri Naylor, interior designer on Tuk Cho project and Peter Hodgson, managing director of Dakota

D303325- Interior of Tuk Cho, Ealing, London

D304078- Exterior of Tuk Cho, Ealing, London