THE designers behind one of York's newest restaurants have scooped a top award.

Rachel McLane Ltd was the design consultants behind Andrew Pern's York Minster refectory, which they recently picked up an award at the Northern Design Awards 2023.

It won the interior design category for restaurant/dining interiors worth under £250,000. 

The Pickering-based interior design consultancy has been a finalist at the Northern Design awards numerous times, with three other properties included in the 2023 show. They were: The Hertsmere restaurant and bar, Cuckney House and The Flakebridge Estate.

York Minster's refectory uses the site of the former Minster school. The grade two listed building was renovated by GEM Construction, head chef Andrew Pern and Enjoy Design Architects along with Rachel McLane.

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Built in the 1830s, the school turned restaurant offers a unique view of York Minster in its central location.

Design consultancy owner Rachel McLane said: "We acquired old school subject artefacts that are displayed in the gantry above the banquette seating that was a nod back to the building's school heritage.

"We also used copies from original manuscripts associated with the Minster and its choristers which we printed onto canvas and parchment and incorporated onto bespoke chandeliers and screens.

"This kind of historical and cultural integrity can be seen throughout our concepts and the building designs for the refectory."

The restaurant was opened by King Charles III and Queen Camilla in April. The royal event was kept a secret from the developers as a surprise.

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Rachel said: "We didn't know until fairly late in the development cycle that there would be a royal opening and it meant we had to bring forward and adapt a lot of the project schedules across all aspects of the design.

"That was a big effort but really well worth it to see the King and Queen enjoying Andrew's food in the restaurant that six months earlier had been a construction shell."

Food at the refectory is put on by the restaurant team, led by head chefs Joshua Brimmell and Andrew Pern of The Star Inn the City and the Michelin starred Star at Harome.

The refectory offers takeaway drinks, cakes and snacks during the day and fine dining in the evening. The existing stone floor of the front entrance had to be raised and re-laid to make it level access throughout.

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Inside, the ground floor is the space in which school pupils and staff ate their meals and hosted school concerts. This single open refectory hall dining-room now has an open bar and waiting tables with more than 60 covers.

Upstairs was the school's old science labs, IT suite & geography room. It was reconfigured to accommodate accessible WCs with a lift and a more open plan, lounge-type hub and meeting area, with mixed seating and tables, and spaces for private dining and smaller functions, such as weddings.