ABDA Design celebrates double recognition at prestigious national CEDA Awards 2025

We are proud to announce our recent success at the CEDA (Catering Equipment Distributors Association) Awards 2025, where we were recognised for our outstanding contributions to the catering and design industry. This achievement is particularly meaningful as it comes just three months after the management buy-out by Claire Smith and Richard Steade, marking an exciting new chapter for the company.

Operations co-ordinator, Amie Rice, was honoured with the Rising Star Award, a prestigious accolade that celebrates emerging talent within the sector. Amie’s achievement recognises her dedication and exceptional work ethic, having joined ABDA Design only two years ago from a completely different profession. During this time, she has quickly established herself as a vital member of the team taking the lead on wellbeing and introducing new initiatives to support the business.

In addition to Amie’s individual success, we were also shortlisted for the Project Management Award for our work on the Charnwood Bakery project. This complex piece of work required detailed project management skills to complete within a tight eight-week timeline. With it being a live site, operating around the clock, the ABDA team had to collaborate with other contractors and demonstrate their flexibility to manage and co-ordinate all aspects of the build.

Claire Smith, managing director of ABDA Design, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been recognised by CEDA this year. Being shortlisted for the Project Management Award for our work on Charnwood Bakery is a fantastic achievement for the whole team, but I’m especially proud of Amie for winning the Rising Star Award. She has gone above and beyond to learn and understand a completely new industry, and her dedication to not only our business, but the whole sector in such a short time is incredible. This recognition is so
well-deserved, and we’re all incredibly proud of her.”

Amie Rice added: “It meant so much to me that the team wanted to put me forward for this award so to be shortlisted and then win is so special. From my very first day at ABDA Design, the whole team has been so supportive, helping me learn and grow in an industry that was completely new to me. I’ve had the chance to work on some amazing projects, and I know there’s still so much more I can learn from such an inspiring group of people.”

The CEDA Awards celebrate the best in the catering equipment and design industry, highlighting innovation, professionalism, and excellence across the UK.

ABDA Design’s recognition at this year’s event reinforces its position as a leader in the field and a business that is committed to nurturing talent and delivering exceptional results for every client.

The ABDA Design team is passionate about how it can help the wider industry and have been supporting the work of CEDA in a variety of ways. Our managing director, Claire Smith, is now part of the board of directors. She is particularly passionate about supporting and growing the next generation coming through the industry and creating a more diverse workforce.

Team members Amie Rice, Kate Nuttall, and Sam Pearce are involved in the CEDA Academy, an initiative designed to connect and empower young professionals within the sector. The Academy provides opportunities for collaboration, mentorship, and events, helping to attract new talent and strengthen the future of the industry.

ABDA Design has announced an exciting new chapter as long-serving directors, Claire Smith and Richard Steade, have taken over the hospitality design consultancy, ensuring its continued success and future growth.

The transition marks a new era for ABDA Design ensuring continuity and fresh leadership from within. With their deep understanding of the company and its values, the duo is committed to maintaining its legacy while bringing fresh ideas for the future.

ABDA Design works with hospitality businesses offering interior design and brand development, commercial kitchens, and build and interior fit out. For almost three decades, the business has been led by David Summers who will continue to work within the business.

Creativity and storytelling are at the heart of every project at ABDA Design. Their combined expertise and integrated approach to interior and kitchen design enable them to deliver high-quality design and fit-out services. With a diverse portfolio spanning hotels, restaurants, leisure venues, heritage sites, and business and industry spaces, ABDA Design is highly respected in both hospitality and design circles.

Richard Steade, joint managing director said: “Having worked at ABDA Design since 2006 and for the last six years as design director, this marks an exciting new chapter for myself, Claire and the team. We want to build on the solid foundations of the business and work with our existing team to develop it for the future. I’ve got lots of new ideas I want to bring to the business including strengthening our work on sustainability and developing our work further in specific markets.”

Claire Smith, joint managing director added: “Having dedicated my entire career to this industry, I am truly passionate about hospitality and design. Owning and leading my own business has always been an ambition of mine, and I’m incredibly proud to have reached this milestone. ABDA Design has a strong heritage within hospitality, and I am excited to build on its success, continuing to work with our fantastic team and clients and taking the business to new heights.”

A core part of our business has always been in foodservice. We have worked in some amazing work and events spaces over the years and our latest portfolio showcases some of our recent B&I projects. From sci-tech to finance, we have worked with a range of clients on projects of varying sizes.

Download the B&I portfolio here

If you would like to learn more about our work in foodservice, our team would love to hear from you. You can send us a message via our Contact Us page. 

This year we have recognised the long service that some of our team have dedicated to working at ABDA Design. One of the team members who has worked with us for over two decades is our talented senior designer, Michael Hall. To celebrate this achievement, we wanted to look back on his journey and some of his highlights.

Michael studied 3D Design at Leicester De Montfort University. It was a broad ranging degree with modules including Colour Theory, Hospitality Design, CAD and Model Making. He was runner up in the design of a pop-up exhibition restaurant which included an inflated roof. This was a great experience to be a part of and it led to his interest in the hospitality side of interior design.

“Growing up, I knew I wanted to do something in design, but it wasn’t until I was at university that I found the work in hospitality so rewarding as I received lots of encouragement and my creativity was recognised.”

Michael likes working for ABDA Design as it is constantly changing with the times and providing new challenges, whether that be the areas of design we target, the technology we use or the clients we support. Throughout all of these changes, the colleagues that Michael has worked with have been outstanding and helped to make his work life so enjoyable.

“Over the last 23 years, the thing I have most enjoyed is the people and fun we have in the office. Without exception, everyone here, past and present, are total stars.”

Reflecting on his most memorable project, Michael loved working on the office design for EMW Crawley. This was a design and build project which we saw through from concept to completion.

“We got lots of positive vibes from the client as well as from their customers. It was a fresh approach to design with a friendly and professional environment. The design looked stunning, the client was awesome, and the fit-out team were very helpful which when all combined made for a great project.”

Thinking about his other successes, one of those would be the work we recently completed on the public areas at Holiday Inn Leicester. Emma Kendall, the hotel manager, was so happy and positive about the completed refurbishment.

Looking ahead to the next 20 years of design, Michael thinks there could be a movement to more socially aware venues and the impact on the planet. He believes venues will have strong ties with charities, good causes, the environment, and local procurement. Equipment such as furniture, lighting and even fixtures may be re-used.

“As historic features of a building are recognised, and as materials such as hardwood and natural stone become rarer, keeping them within a design will become more important. It may be seen as an accomplishment to work as many existing features into a new scheme as possible. This throws up lots of new challenges as to how things can be adapted and re-purposed but it’s an exciting opportunity as a designer.”

 

Earlier this month, the ABDA Design team had a group outing to the Surface Design Show. It provided our design team with an opportunity to spot trends, see how they are evolving and talk to suppliers face to face. This is valuable for seeing what’s new on the market and learning about new products to help with future designs.

Five standouts from the show

“This year I noticed lots of recycling products that clearly showed the recycled content within them such as broken pieces of plastic.” Sam Pearce, designer

“Terrazzo style still looked strong and pastel/mint green was a popular colour. There was a lot of 3D textures to materials too. A supplier that really caught my eye was Foresso, it is made from waste timber chips, offcuts and water-based non-toxic binder. This gives it a natural look and has amazing colours.” Michael Hall, senior designer

“The Vita Nova stand was fantastic and a great concept. The stand was there to promote recycling items such as solid surface samples which typically just go to landfill when they are no longer required.” Rachael Sheldon, senior designer

“There were a lot of products supporting the importance of sustainability. More recycled products or recyclable at the end of life. A lot of products around the show, like wayfinding signage, was made from recycled materials. So, the whole show was not only hosting a variety of suppliers but also using their products around the event.” Anabel Twitchell-Requena, designer

“I was really looking forward to seeing Smile Plastics, who were sponsoring the show. I came across them on LinkedIn prior to the show and did some research. Their approach to sustainability and reusing and reimagining products in a different way really intrigued me. I couldn’t wait to see their Earth Collection Set, as this really stood out visually as well as the reasoning behind it. Sustainability, natural materials, reimagining waste into new and usable products and recycling were hot topics at this show. CDUK had an initiative to take back old products to reuse them, they created a very immersive experience with a robot.” Tansin Blankley, designer

Exploring as a team

This year the designers went to the show together and this made a huge difference to the overall experience. Our designer, Melissa Bratton believes that going to events as a team inspires creativity as they can find inspiration for current or future projects together. Taking time out to visit shows like this really helps her increase her knowledge on products and companies which then helps with her individual and the overall team’s creativity.

Sam felt that the ability to reference other designers to the reps, as opposed to saying ‘I’ll pass this information on’ made the whole experience more valuable. All the team specialise in different things so by having a wider knowledge and presence there meant the reps could engage with ABDA Design more.

The team is all over the country currently so getting everyone together at the same time is hard but by visiting this show as a group, Rachael felt they could all bounce ideas off one another as they walked round.

Tansin feels it is important to be able to see new products and materials in person, where possible, to see and hear first-hand the benefits and how they can implement these into their designs. The team always do a great job of sharing new products over email or doing ‘lunch and learns’ to keep everyone up to date, but there’s nothing better than seeing and feeling materials first-hand.

Why do we visit shows?

It really does help to get out to these shows. We are currently working on a new hotel concept and Rachael found that she managed to source loads of ideas for materials and products which would fit the bill. It was great to speak to suppliers and see the products in the flesh, which is always better than just seeing an image on the Internet.

Sometimes we’re channelled into sticking with what we know as it’s safe, but when you speak with people in person it’s a lot easier than researching online. You also start to build a relationship by meeting face to face. New suppliers keep our list of resources refreshed instead of using the same companies all the time.

 

Developing up and coming talent in the hospitality design world is really important to the ABDA Design team. Over the last few years, we’ve been building strong relationships with the lecturers and students from the University of Northampton’s Interior Architecture and Spatial Design course. Last year the ABDA design team visited the University to support the students with their learning and offer practical support. It was inspiring to share ideas and absorb the enthusiasm and new ways of thinking from the students.

You can see some of the highlights from the event in our video

Following this collaboration, we have been proud to welcome rising star of the commercial design world, Melissa Bratton to the team and can’t wait to showcase some of her work on our social media channels over the coming weeks. We caught up with Melissa to learn more about her.

What attracted you to working with the ABDA design team?

I like ABDA’s creativity, design ethos and the range of the projects they work on in the hospitality sector. In the first few weeks, I’ve found the whole team so welcoming, and I am looking forward to working on the projects they have got coming up.

Tell us more about the course you are studied.

I have recently graduated from the University of Northampton studying Interior Architecture and Spatial design. Now that I’ve completed my studies, I think my time at ABDA will give me more of an insight into the hospitality and design industries and help me to gain valuable knowledge.

What are you most looking forward to working on over the next year?

It’s just going to be great to work with a strong design team on some of the exciting projects they’ve got coming up. I’m looking forward to developing and gaining more design skills to build on what I learnt at university. It always helps to be able to work on a live project that has a set brief and client constraints as this challenges us to be more creative with resources than when we worked on hypothetical projects at university.

What is your favourite type of venue to design?

I have always loved commercial design. My favourite projects to work on are hospitality and more specifically, restaurant projects. I don’t have one particular dream project, as I want to work on a variety of food and beverage venues as I believe this will really broaden my skillset.

Tell us the most effective ways of boosting your creativity.

This is something that is so important as a designer, so I like to go for walks at weekends, being around nature really boosts my creativity. Spending time relaxing and socialising helps me to become more creative too.

If you weren’t a designer, what other career options could you see yourself doing?

I did textiles for A-levels so maybe something more related to that, I’d always want to do something that’s creative and artistic.

Tell us about your favourite place to dine out.

I enjoy trying new restaurants and feeling inspired by seeing new interiors, so I don’t really have one favourite place as I like to explore as many venues as possible.

What’s your foodie guilty pleasure?

I would have to say a traditional Sunday roast in winter.

 

Last month, ABDA Design brought its entire organisation together for a truly inspiring company day. These regular events are a key part of our calendar as we strive to have a strong and creative team who are constantly developing their knowledge. It’s all about focusing on our team’s development without the day-to-day pressure of projects. The event took place at newly renovated Vulcan Works on Guildhall Road in Northampton and this stylish , spacious building was the perfect backdrop for such an important day of learning.

Learning through comedy

The morning was full of humour as we brought in Dave Keeling from Laughology to run two inspiring and hilarious sessions focusing on FLIP IT Thinking and Boosting your Oomph. The Laughology model of learning and development improves performance and builds happy and effective organisations across business and education sectors. These light-hearted and energetic sessions had the team up on their feet and working creatively and collaboratively with practical techniques for changing mindset and boosting creativity.

Creative thinking

Following a healthy lunch and networking break to help improve our minds, it was back down to business as our director, Claire updated the team on how well the business is doing and gave everyone the chance to input on ways of working. It was then down to the marketing team to share their updates on PR, social media and overall marketing activity with lots of ideas on how the designers could input into this.

The team were encouraged to book their creativity days which every member of staff is entitled to. These are additional days off which allow everyone to enjoy a day that helps them to enhance creativeness. This could be doing anything from visiting a tourist attraction, spending a day with nature or learning a new skill; basically, it’s down to each team member to choose something that helps their own wellbeing and creativity.

Time for some competition

Whilst most of the day was about the whole team working together, we had an hour of company competitiveness. The organisation was split into two teams, and they went on a scavenger hunt around Northampton town centre. Cryptic clues were provided around particular destinations and both teams had to take a team photo outside each venue. This created some friendly rivalry as teams raced around the town visiting shops, museums, cheesemongers, florists and even a local brewery. Both teams did get some strange looks from members of the public as they were witnessed literally sprinting between venues.

After an action-packed day, it was time to unwind with some wine tasting at the V&B Bar with antipasti nibbles. Our thanks go to the whole team for their input into the day as these events are so valuable in improving the ways we work together and drive ABDA Design forward. Our next creativity event will be later in the year in Leeds so keep an eye on our social media channels to see what we get up to.

With trends changing, it’s important that our designers always remain creative and ensure their knowledge is regularly updated. This involves them spending large amounts of their time researching the target audience, local area, competitor venues, consumer behaviour and much more. Sometimes it involves taking a step outside and simply wandering around a town or city to see what other designs are out there. Our designer, Michael spends a lot of time finding other designs he truly loves and taking elements of inspiration from those. We recently asked him to tell us more about some of his thoughts on his favourite designers and designs.

Be bold

Morag Myerscough is part of the “New London Fabulous” design movement challenging minimalism bias of industry design. This was established to encourage the use of colour, pattern and ornament. Her designs inspire me to use bold colours and to be brave with patterns and graphics. The designs she did for the café of Bernie Grant Arts Centre really lifted my spirits and made me smile. I was particularly attracted to this, as it challenges standard minimalism design and I find it inspirational to go so far away from the norm. Looking ahead, I wonder if this is the start of a move away from traditional muted or natural pallets. This approach is good for the commercial world as increasingly customers are seeking environments which are very different to what they have at home. Eating or drinking somewhere like this can allow for creativity and somewhere to escape.

Remember the attention to detail

I think that every design which Thomas Heatherwick creates is genius. He continually inspires me to research a client brief fully to find the tiny details which can grow into creative environments. Since visiting his “Blue Carpet” at Newcastle in my student years, I have followed his designs. Notably the ‘Spun Chair’ for Magis and the UK Pavilion for the Shanghai Expo 2010. Each point of the spikey cube “Dandelion” contains a seed to represent human innovation, adaptation and resilience. It completely takes the initial concept sketch and makes it work. The design is ultimately sculptural but its eye-catching appearance draws the issue to your attention.

Look to the future

Whilst Zaha Hadid is no longer with us, her design approach continues to inspire new commissions around the world. Her style teaches me to embrace the curve and flow of the design. She has no fixed design categorisation, and this is testament to her individuality. This design is for the Changsha Meixihu International Culture & Arts Centre. It grabs my attention because this is what I think about when looking into the future. This view of the future may evolve but I think the forms she has created are so aesthetically beautiful that even if things change, these designs will still be amazing to experience.

Be frivolous when you can

These designs were for the stage setting of the Flaming Lips concerts and were created by Wayne Coyne. I’m inspired by the visuals and the music that brings a dream fantasy to life in a colourful explosion. Once you have seen lasers coming from giant hands anything is possible. He makes good use of LED lighting, inflatables, confetti and juxtapose animals and emojis. Ultimately, this is all about wacky fun and psychedelic escapism. I think this tells us that no matter how refined and professional a design may be, there will always need to be an element of frivolity to make an experience individual. In this case it was for a band performance on stage but this could be applied to restaurant design. Whilst I don’t think this is a design trend as such, it will always be somewhere in the sub-culture, whether it be 60’s hippy, 70’s glam or 80’s electronica. I think this current style is largely influenced by Japanese culture.

Challenge minimalism

Adam Nathaniel Furman is also part of the “New London Fabulous” design movement. He is pushing forward this movement and approach to brighten the world up. I like the way clashing colour and patterns can be used to make a happy interior. These caught my eye as they challenge standard minimalism design and tend to throw out current professional teachings. I find it inspirational to go so far away from the norm and this motivates me to continue being brave when creating my designs in the future.