John Campbell, the Michelin Star chef who owns The Woodspeen restaurant and cookery school in Berkshire, has chosen Dekton's latest industrial chic and white surfaces for the refurbishment of his kitchens.

The ultracompact surfaces from Cosentino chosen are the new industrial chic Trillium and white Danae.

The Woodspeen is in the West Berkshire countryside near Newbury. It was built on the plot of a once thriving local pub that had been left in a state of disrepair. The new building that emerged over 12 months kept the shell of the original pub but added a significant extension to the rear to create a bright, airy restaurant with vistas over the rolling countryside.

Dekton in the white Danae colour was chosen for the restaurant’s open 'pass', which adds a touch of theatre by allowing guests to see into the kitchen from the restaurant. Campbell wanted to steer away from the standard stainless steel tops often found in professional kitchens and create an attractive and appropriate link between the kitchen and the diners. Dekton offered a practical design solution. As John Campbell says: “Pans, plates and extremely hot utensils are used on the pass each and every day, so it’s important that the surface is able to cope with the heat, which Dekton does brilliantly.”

Dekton Danae on two of the islands lightens the kitchens while Dekton Trillium from the Industrial Collection for the rest of the worktops and splashbacks creates a wow! factor.

This introduction to Dekton led Campbell to specify it once again when he embarked on the refurbishment of The Woodspeen Cookery School. He says: "The top in the restaurant is over three-and-half years old but still looks just as good as when it was put in - hence why Dekton was the obvious choice in the Cookery School. It looks good. It feels good. But, importantly, it gives us all the benefits required.”

The school is open to both professional chefs for intense training days and enthusiastic home cooks and Campbell wanted the space to bridge the gap between a commercial and domestic kitchen, so all the students felt at home. Of course, the surfaces also had to be robust enough to cope with intense daily use. Having already experienced Dekton’s high resistance to heat, scratches and stains, Campbell knew it would be more than up to the job.

John: “Perfect for the Cookery School, Dekton remains the same temperature as the room, unlike marble and granite surfaces which can be at a much lower temperature to their environment. When we are teaching students to make bread, for example, we can turn out the dough straight on to the surface as it’s very tactile, smooth and a pleasure to work on."

Danae was selected again for two of the central worktops, its light colour giving a feeling of spaciousness. The remaining worktops and splashbacks used Trilium, part of Dekton's Industrial Collection, which has a look that wowed the chef. Both are 20mm thick.

John: "Trilium! Wow! Amazing! What the whole restaurant and the cookery school is all about is natural woods, materials, coppers, bronzes and brick, so this design really complements the dark colours and metallic elements and was the obvious choice here. For me, the Dekton tops really create the visual wow factor in this kitchen."

John's kitchen designer was Snugg Kitchens, the builder Donovans Construction.