Bringing Jamie’s Character to a Tuscan KitchenBlacksheep were approached by Jamie’s Italian to formulate a fresh direction for their new restaurant in Westfield – White City. During this time Jamie’s Italian currently had 8 sites across the UK. It was up to Blacksheep to work closely with the client to understand the fundamental parts of the brand which made it unique, in order to develop a new direction for Jamie’s, which would stand out from previous sites. This was achieved by spending time working in one of their existing restaurants and taking a trip to Italy to fully immerse ourselves in Italian culture and discover the passion that first ignited in site was originally going to be a crèche and as a result had a unique layout which dictated the main body of the design and journey through the space. Subsequently the space was split into 3 key areas; the ‘Piazza’, ‘Market Place’ and ‘Back Room’. These areas were all born from the research into Italian dining habits and Piazza at the front of the restaurant spills out on to the terrace creating a connection between the internal and external dining area. The market place is a 20m long corridor where the open kitchen is located; opposite a complete retail solution that displays everything from fresh pasta and bread to books and olive oils. This leads through to the back room which has the feeling of a more intimate dining space which you would normally find in the back of an old Italian deli. The journey through from the main entrance to the Rear Room is reminiscent of the scene from Goodfellas where the customer is walked through the hustle & bustle of the main kitchen and market into the back, where the walls are lined with hand-made Italian wall panels designed specifically for Jamie’s designed and developed a feature wall of reclaimed Vesper headlights, all illuminated with LED, that shimmer and glisten through the evening; a nod back to Jamie’s humour and history which is offset against beautiful bespoke glass chandeliers and copper fittings. The site is easy to locate due to a Citroen HY Classic van that acts not only as an iconic piece of signage but also as a functioning ice cream van during the summer months. These elements help to define the look of the restaurant, create talking points and make it stand out from the crowd.