The Staff Canteen Live 2026: Lockhart and CCS event at Meraki

Today (Wednesday, June 24), The Staff Canteen LIVE joined Lockhart Catering Equipment and Continental Chef Supplies (CCS) for a bespoke hospitality event at the Lockhart Innovation Centre and Meraki.

The event was designed to give chefs, operators and senior hospitality professionals a closer look at equipment, products and practical solutions that can support modern hospitality businesses.

The day began at Lockhart’s London Innovation Centre on Berners Street, where guests were welcomed with arrival drinks before a tour of the showroom.

The morning featured a series of live product demonstrations, including a cooking demonstration with Pacojet, a barware demonstration with Blendtec and a knife guide with Victorinox.

The format gave guests the opportunity to see products in action, ask questions directly to product specialists and explore how different equipment could be applied across kitchens, bars and hospitality operations.

The partners

Today’s event was delivered in partnership with Lockhart Catering Equipment and CCS.

By hosting guests inside the London Innovation Centre, Lockhart and CCS were able to showcase the breadth of their offer across catering equipment, chef supplies, barware and operational solutions.

Mark Lombard, managing director of Lockhart and CCS, said: “Today has been a phenomenal event, in partnership with The Staff Canteen.

“This is all about networking with our friends, colleagues and prospective clients.

“It is all about putting the industry into the industry and sharing ideas, concepts and just a great networking event to have a great time.

“It’s always easy working with The Staff Canteen.

“We’ve looked to work with them for a long time now. It is a good partnership. In terms of how they come and celebrate and help us with bringing guests and opportunities together, it is a great way of working together.

“It makes working together very simple, when we just reach out and everyone is on board straightaway.”

The guests

Guests at today’s event included a curated group of chefs, operators and senior hospitality professionals from across the industry. They included Nathaniel Mortley (2210 by NattyCanCook), Alex Harper (Lilibets) and Peter Joseph (Kahani).

Scott Philliskirk, head chef of West 10 Bar and Kitchen in Sheffield, said: “Just seeing the different equipment was great. Pacojet for me is a big contender and the new up and coming equipment that is coming out at the moment is good.

“You get to see it in live action, which is the main key.

“You can sell anything on paper, but when you get to see it live in action, there and then, in the moment, you know exactly if what you’re trying to create can be done with that piece of machinery or not.

“There’s a couple of things that took my attention which I will follow up on.”

The demonstrations

The morning demonstrations gave guests the chance to see a range of products in action.

Pacojet was used to showcase its ability to support precision, consistency and creative preparation in professional kitchens, particularly across frozen, chilled and high-quality mise en place applications.

Blendtec was featured as part of the barware demonstration, highlighting how equipment can support speed, consistency and quality across drinks-led operations.

The Victorinox knife guide gave guests a practical look at knife selection, handling and application, with a focus on tools that support efficiency and accuracy in a working hospitality environment.

Simon Britten, head of marketing at Lockhart and CCS, said: “We have collaborated really well with The Staff Canteen to bring together 25-30 decision-makers across hotels, restaurants and contract catering for a fantastic day of networking, brilliant food, a celebration of hospitality and some really good demos from some really innovative products at our London showroom.

“We’ve made some great relationships. Some people we already knew, so it cements those relationships we have.

“Some of the ones we haven’t met, we’ve got some great opportunities in the making.

“It was a great day all round.”

Lunch at Meraki

Following the tour and demonstrations, guests made the short walk to Meraki in Soho for lunch.

Located in Fitzrovia, Meraki is known for contemporary Greek cooking, bringing together Mediterranean ingredients, relaxed hospitality and a polished central London dining room.

The lunch provided a more informal setting for guests to continue conversations from the morning, giving suppliers, operators and hospitality professionals the chance to connect away from the pressure of service.

Dishes on the menu included smoked royal salmon, lamb kleftike and karydopita.