New shared kitchen space supports growing food businesses in Brighton

Sussex Prep Kitchen, founded by David Copeland and based at the Hove Enterprise Centre in Basin Road North, provides food businesses with their own prep space in a commercial kitchen environment.

David said: “I came up with the idea when I started my own food business and discovered that there is a real shortage of affordable shared kitchen space in the city.

“This means many food businesses start off at home and often find it difficult to grow efficiently as they don’t have the space, equipment or premises to do it from.”

It comes as the lockdown saw many people start their own food businesses from home.

The business has so far attracted those want to make the leap from a home-kitchen environment to help them grow, as well as established food businesses who may have run out of space.

Current clients include a company that provides packed lunches for film and TV sets, and a new company which produces ice-cream.

Sophie Clark, the owner of Flux which specialises in plant-based Californian-style street food, said Sussex Prep Kitchen had been ‘an absolute game-changer’ for her business.

“We had been on the lookout for an affordable commercial kitchen space, having massively outgrown our home kitchen space after two years slogging it in our one-bedroom flat,” she said.

“The space that David has created is a rare find in our local area, and it’s fantastic to have found a space where we can store all of our ingredients and equipment, as well as use a large commercial kitchen to prepare for events, especially as we expand into bigger events like festivals.”

Sussex Prep Kitchen offers an all-in-one hire package which includes full use of the prep kitchen with ambient, refrigerated and frozen storage space.

It even has an electric van which people can hire as an add-on service.

Find out more at www.sussexprepkitchen.co.uk