For chef, cookbook author and retreat host Bettina Campolucci Bordi, food has always been about more than what's on the plate. As founder of Bettina’s Kitchen, she has built a community centred around nourishing food, creativity and connection. As the business expanded it became clear that she needed a dedicated space that could support every aspect of her growing brand.
The result is a beautifully designed culinary studio that functions as a professional kitchen, filming space, teaching environment and event venue all under one roof. At the heart of the project are Caesarstone 4011 Cloudburst Concrete ICON surfaces, chosen for their timeless aesthetic, sustainability credentials, durability, and ability to withstand the demands of a busy professional kitchen.
Creating a Home for Bettina’s Kitchen
“The main goal was to create a beautiful, hard-working and sustainable space that could move effortlessly between different uses,” explains Bettina. “I needed it to function as a professional working kitchen, a teaching space, a recipe development kitchen, a filming location and a place where people could gather around food.”
The new studio has been carefully designed to support a wide range of activities, from recipe experimentation and content creation to workshops, supper clubs and training through Bettina’s Retreat Chef Academy. The vision was to create a space that felt inspiring and welcoming while remaining highly functional for a professional chef and creative team.
Balancing Beauty and Practicality
The kitchen was created in collaboration with Sustainable Kitchens and The Incredible Kitchen Company, bringing together a team that understood the unique requirements of the space. Unlike a residential kitchen, the studio needed to perform across multiple functions and be robust enough to handle the more wearing aspects of a professional kitchen that go far beyond the daily use of an average home kitchen.
“The biggest challenge was balancing beauty with practicality,” says Bettina. “As a chef, I need surfaces, appliances and layouts that can handle real cooking, not just styling. There are days when we are testing recipes, prepping for events, creating content, hosting workshops or feeding a room full of guests, so the kitchen had to support all of that.”
Every element was carefully considered, from lighting and power requirements to storage, workflow and movement throughout the open-plan space. Creating a space that embodied sustainability also presented a welcome challenge as every product choice was about more than just visual appeal but longevity too, to ensure that the finished studio would remain functional and beautiful for years to come,
A Timeless and Flexible Design
The finished space is characterised by natural materials, generous work surfaces and an abundance of natural light. The overall feel is warm, calm and quietly elevated, offering the practicality of a commercial workspace alongside the warmth of a home kitchen.
A soft, nature-inspired palette runs throughout the studio, with warm oak cabinetry, herringbone timber flooring, muted olive-green accents and an abundance of planting creating a welcoming, restorative atmosphere. Exposed steel beams and industrial architectural details celebrate the building's heritage, while the natural materials soften the overall aesthetic, ensuring the space feels inviting rather than overtly commercial.
“It feels professional without feeling clinical,” Bettina explains. “I wanted people to walk in and feel immediately at ease, whether they are coming for a shoot, a workshop, a supper club or a training day.”
At the heart of the design is Caesarstone's Cloudburst Concrete, its soft grey base and subtle movement bring a refined, contemporary feel to the studio. Inspired by the look of weathered concrete, the surface introduces texture and depth without overwhelming the space, complementing the organic tones of the timber cabinetry alongside the industrial frame of the building, and allowing the vibrant colours of seasonal ingredients to take centre stage. Its understated appearance makes it an ideal backdrop for photography and filming, creating a consistent canvas across the studio's many functions.
The studio includes three distinct kitchen zones: a dedicated prep kitchen, a fixed teaching island and a moveable filming island. Open shelving displays cookbooks, ingredients and greenery, reinforcing the connection to food, creativity and everyday use, while the large communal table encourages conversation and shared experiences. Additional features include BORA cooking systems with integrated extraction, a teppanyaki grill, a Quooker tap, HexClad cookware and Le Creuset pieces. The coffee and tea bar creates an additional flexible space that can adapt to different events and activities.
This versatility was essential, allowing the studio to transition seamlessly between a working kitchen, content creation hub, training space and event venue. Despite its impressive functionality, the studio retains a sense of warmth and personality throughout, reflecting Bettina's belief that great food is ultimately about bringing people together.
Choosing Caesarstone for a Hardworking Kitchen
"Durability was essential. This is not a show kitchen; it is a working kitchen," Bettina explains. "I wanted a surface that would continue to look beautiful and perform well for years to come."
In any kitchen, the worktop is one of the hardest-working elements in the space. It forms the backbone of day-to-day activity, serving as the surface where ingredients are prepared, dishes are plated, ideas are developed and people gather. For Bettina's studio it needed to be able to stand the test of time and still look great in videos and photo shoots long into the future of the space, making choosing the right surface a crucial decision.
Installed throughout the prep kitchen, teaching island and filming island, Caesarstone's Cloudburst Concrete provides a consistent foundation across the studio's various working zones. Its subtle, concrete-inspired aesthetic complements the wider design without competing for attention, allowing the focus to remain on the food, the people and the experiences being created within the space.
"We wanted a surface that would sit beautifully within the wider design and not overpower the food," says Bettina. "The tone and finish felt calm and versatile, which was really important because the studio will be used in so many different ways."
Beyond aesthetics, performance was a key consideration. As a professional chef, Bettina needed a surface capable of standing up to the demands of daily use while maintaining its appearance over time.
Bettina continues: “It had to be easy to maintain, hygienic, practical and beautiful. As a chef, I’m always thinking about how a surface feels to work on, how it photographs, how easy it is to clean, and whether it will still look good after years of use.”
Caesarstone's commercial warranty offered additional peace of mind, reinforcing the decision to invest in a surface designed to perform reliably in a hardworking environment.
When asked what she loves most about the surface Bettina added, “I love that it feels both beautiful and incredibly practical. It gives the kitchen a calm, elevated finish, but it also feels robust and reassuring to work on.”
Designed with Longevity in Mind
Sustainability was a key consideration throughout the project. Bettina wanted every decision to reflect the values that underpin her work: thoughtful sourcing, seasonal cooking, low-waste practices and long-term investment in quality materials.
“A big part of sustainability is choosing materials that are durable, timeless and able to withstand real daily use,” she says. “That is why Caesarstone felt like such a good fit.”
The studio was developed around a simple philosophy: buy well, buy once. From the cabinetry and appliances to the work surfaces and layout, every decision was made with long-term value in mind.
Caesarstone's durability, low-maintenance qualities and timeless appearance aligned perfectly with this approach, supporting the practical needs of the business while contributing to the studio's calm and considered aesthetic.
A Space Built Around Food and Community
Looking back, Bettina is most proud that the finished studio feels like a genuine reflection of her business and values.
“It is warm, functional, beautiful and full of possibility,” she says. “More than anything, I’m proud that we have created a space that brings people together through food. That has always been at the heart of my work.”
Today, the studio serves as the home of Bettina’s Kitchen, providing a versatile environment where cooking, teaching, filming and collaboration can thrive. Supported by durable, high-performing Caesarstone surfaces throughout, it is a space designed not only for today, but for many years of creativity, learning and connection to come.
