Inside the Good Food Test Kitchen

TV test kitchen with cobalt blue kitchen island, teal walls and wooden kitchen units.

Test kitchen with two long oak kitchen islands with red, yellow and blue panels.

We recently sat down with Simon Carrington, Commercial Director at Good Food, where we discussed how thoughtful kitchen design supports creativity, from recipe testing to filming and sharing food with millions of home cooks.

As one of the UK’s most trusted food brands, Good Food has recently expanded its video and digital content, creating new test and studio kitchens that balance everyday function with on-screen appeal. Designed in collaboration with HUSK, these spaces reflect shared values of sustainability, authenticity and craftsmanship.

We spoke with Simon about how the kitchens came together, and how design continues to shape the future of Good Food.

We wanted a kitchen brand that shared our values -sustainable, flexible and built for real life.

Commercial Director at good food Simon Carrington

What made HUSK a good fit for Good Food’s new test kitchens?

Simon: We were looking for a brand that could fit our sustainability criteria, offer us the kind of choices we needed for our bespoke test kitchen and marry well with our own brand.

When creating kitchens for filming, what key factors must be taken into consideration?

Simon: We needed a product that, as well as being hard-wearing enough to put up with the day-to-day challenges of our test kitchen environment, could also supply the finishes that look good on camera when we film videos.

Timber kitchen cabinets with white countertop. There is a yellow wall behind with lots of framed art and two pendant lights hanging down. — Fronts Natural Oak Veneer

How do you make sure the kitchens look ‘real’ and inviting on camera, while also being a practical workplace for your team?

Simon: Our kitchen’s built just like a real home kitchen, so it doesn’t just look real – it is. It’s just bigger in terms of floor space. It’s important that every step in a recipe test is as similar in our kitchen as it is at home. Our cupboards need to be the same size so we know what pots, pans and tins are easy to fit in, our oven housing is the same as our appliances are domestic, and our drawers and doors have to have handles that are easy and comfortable to use.

The two kitchens (large set vs. smaller commercial studio) have very different roles – how did that influence the design process?

Simon: The studio is a smaller kitchen that is used commercially for different brands, so it needs to look like home kitchen on camera. The studio kitchen needs to be fully functional but look neutral so it can be dressed to convey different styles and feelings and appeal to all brands. Our test kitchen is the home of our food team. It’s a lively, busy working space, and we are open about how we work and the equipment we use. We can film several pieces of content at once in the test kitchen, as the configuration gives us opportunities for different angles and backgrounds. This was all thought through during the design process. It’s very important to our brand that our recipe testing process is transparent, so seeing what happens on a day-to-day basis in the background was part of the original brief.

Our kitchen’s built just like a real home kitchen, so it doesn’t just look real – it is

Commercial Director at good food Simon Carrington

As one of the UK’s most trusted food media brands, how are you evolving your content to keep inspiring home cooks?

Simon: We keep an eye on what’s happening in the food world at every level – from emerging recipe trends to ingredient costs and new appliances coming onto the market. We know what home cooks are making on a daily basis through our data, and we can see what resonates on social media as it happens, so we’re always able to stay ahead and evolve our content accordingly.

In recent years, this has meant bringing air fryers into our recipe methods, switching from ovens to alternative cooking methods when household bills have risen, and adjusting recipes to use less meat for both environmental and cost reasons. We’ve also had fun with social trends like Dubai chocolate, explored health movements such as protein and fibre-maxing, and helped people plan their weekly shops and spending through meal planning. We’ve increased functionality in our app and across our digital platforms to make our recipes as useful and accessible as possible.

Oak Timber veneer kitchen cabinets with white countertop and built in hob.

What’s next for Good Food? Are there new projects or directions you’re especially excited about?

Simon: Our Good Health by Good Food launched in September, bringing hype free advice and recipes to our audience via our website and new social feeds.

Finally, if you had to pick one Good Food recipe that never fails to impress, which would it be?

Simon: This is the best Victoria sponge recipe you’ll ever find, 5 stars and 1233 ratings, I make it at least once a month, and everyone always asks for the recipe.