Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Studio goes live with ATG Danmon

Accompanying image:

Accompanying image of the Food and Drink Studio shows the main demonstration area used to capture close-ups of food preparation.

New facility will play host to live cooking demonstrations and workshops led by established chefs and emerging talent

Press release:

London, UK - May 15th, 2023:  ATG Danmon reports the completion of a video production facility for the 181 Piccadilly headquarters of Fortnum & Mason, one of Britain’s longest established retail stores. The new system includes a Food and Drink Studio plus a dedicated control room. Created as a multipurpose resource on the store’s third floor, the studio incorporates a kitchen with remotely controlled cameras and adjustable lighting. The new facility is designed to be a creative hub for anyone with an interest in food and drink innovation. It will play host to over 100 Fortnum chefs as a production kitchen to create, taste and master recipes, supplying the Piccadilly store with Fortnum classics such as Scotch Eggs and Beef Wellingtons. 

“Covid gave us the time to really think about the direction we want to take with the space,” comments Tom Athron, Fortnum & Mason’s chief executive. “Our whole strategy for a while now has been to become more relevant to more people more often. The purpose-built Food and Drink Studio is dedicated to experimenting and learning, crafting and producing; where beginners can meet masters and the craft of food and drink is celebrated. It will play host to live cooking demonstrations and workshops led by established chefs and emerging talent.” 

“We were invited to advise on the project after being recommended by one of our customers,” says Jonathan Hughes, ATG Danmon managing director. “The challenge was to integrate a versatile but unobtrusive production system into an area that could also be used for audience-participation events. The entire system would output to the store’s existing audio network which in turn would be expanded to accommodate video feeds to wall-mounted display screens in various parts of the store.

“The solution we designed and integrated includes overhead 4K-UHD HDR cameras with low-noise motorised remote pan/tilt/zoom/focus control. These have proved very effective and operationally efficient in many recent ATG Danmon systems integration projects, notably in newsrooms and theatre venues.

“One of the cameras in the Food and Drink Studio is located immediately above the main demonstration area to capture close-ups of food preparation. The kitchen area includes an oven with a built-in camera which contributes live video closeups of food being cooked. 

The results have proved very eye-friendly both from a video production viewpoint and as experienced by Fortnum & Mason’s customers visiting the suite.

The Food and Drink Studio will see a program of bookable events starting this summer, hosted by domestic and international gastronomic talent. It looks set to become a key element of the store’s customer experience and promotional activity, both in-store and potentially globally.

ATG Danmon (www.atgdanmon.co.uk), part of the Danmon Group, is an international systems integrator and a world-class supplier of broadcast systems planning, design, installation and commissioning services. Established in 1993, the company has 30 years of experience working for a wide range of media-related customers including some of the world’s largest television and multimedia networks. ATG Danmon is also active in the educational and corporate sectors. The company has partnered with many clients in the construction of IT-based automated file workflow systems, high-definition studios, master control rooms and playout facilities, as well as the upgrade of existing SD systems to HD and UHD. With offices in Asia, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Danmon Group (www.danmon.com) thinks globally and acts locally to support customers with its highly experienced sales and engineering teams. 

Contact for further information

ATG Danmon: Paul Shonfeld

Email: paul.shonfeld@atgdanmon.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Danmon Group United Kingdom, Unit 5, Oakfield Business Corner, Works Road, Letchworth SG6 1FB, UK

Tel: +44 (0)1462 485 444

Fax: +44 (0)1462 485 777

Web: www.atgdanmon.co.uk/ | Twitter: @ATGDanmon