Kitchen 68 officially launched following major restaurant transformation

A newly refurbished restaurant offering a fresh food experience for staff, patients and visitors has been officially launched at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

Kitchen 68, formerly known as Foster’s Restaurant, was officially celebrated on Friday 6 November following a major refurbishment delivered by Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS).

The project has transformed the restaurant into a brighter, more welcoming space, with an improved layout designed to make it easier for customers to move through the restaurant and choose from the food available.

The new-look restaurant also supports a wider refresh of the catering offer at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, with a greater focus on freshly prepared food. This includes a self-service salad bar, delicatessen offer, grab-and-go options and more cakes and bakes prepared by the catering team.

The official launch brought together colleagues and people involved in delivering the project to celebrate the transformation and thank everyone who helped make it possible. The event included live piano music, refreshments and a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Mike Gregson, Managing Director of Gloucestershire Managed Services (GMS), said: “Kitchen 68 represents a really exciting new chapter for catering at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. We’ve created a much brighter and more welcoming environment, but importantly this project is also about improving the experience for the thousands of colleagues, patients and visitors who use our catering facilities.

“I’m incredibly proud of what everyone involved has achieved. It has taken a huge amount of work and collaboration to get us here, and I’d like to thank our catering teams, project colleagues, contractors and everyone across the Trust and GMS who has supported the refurbishment.

“The Kitchen 68 name gives us a lovely connection to the history of the hospital while looking firmly to the future, and I’m excited to see the restaurant become part of the next chapter of life at Gloucestershire Royal.”

Sue Gott, Associate Director of Facilities (GMS), said: “Kitchen 68 is about much more than a refurbishment. We wanted to create a brighter, more welcoming environment that improves the experience for everyone who uses it, whether they are colleagues, patients or visitors.

“A huge amount of work has gone into transforming the space, and it’s fantastic to see the finished restaurant being enjoyed. I’d like to thank everyone who has been involved in bringing the project to life, as well as our customers for bearing with us while the work was taking place.”

The new name, Kitchen 68, also celebrates the history of catering at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

The Great Western Road site underwent a major period of transformation during the 1960s as the hospital began to take the shape recognisable today. Kitchen 68 takes inspiration from that era of change while recognising the generations of catering colleagues who have helped feed and support the hospital community over the decades.

For many years the restaurant was known as Foster’s, becoming a familiar part of life at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital. Its redevelopment provided an opportunity to give the restaurant a new identity while retaining that connection with the site’s history.

Bridget Hooper, Interim Head of Catering (GMS), said: “We’re really proud of what Kitchen 68 offers. As well as creating a fresh new environment, we’ve focused on improving the choice and quality of food available, with more freshly prepared options and a restaurant that works better for our customers.

“Our catering teams work incredibly hard every day to provide food for colleagues, patients and visitors, so it’s lovely to see them working in a space that reflects the care and effort they put into what they do.”

Kitchen 68 is part of GMS’ wider programme of improvements to retail catering, focused on making hospital cafés and restaurants welcoming and inclusive places where staff, patients and visitors can eat, take a break and recharge.

The refurbishment has also introduced new furniture, an updated serving area and décor, alongside the refreshed menus and overall customer experience.