Kitchen Hire Terms & Conditions
1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 “We”, “Us” and “Our” means Underground Cookery Barbican Limited trading as The Underground Cookery School (company number 6412152), 201/203 City Road, London EC1V 1JN. “Client”, “You” and “Your” means the business customer identified in the Booking Confirmation.
1.2 “Booking Confirmation” means our written acceptance identifying the hire date(s), times, permitted use, rooms and equipment, maximum occupancy, Fee, staffing (if any), and any agreed special conditions. “Hire Period” includes agreed access, setup, service and departure times. “Kitchen” means the areas and equipment identified in the Booking Confirmation.
1.3 “Dry Hire” means hire of specified facilities without our operational or culinary staff, except such building or safety oversight as we expressly provide. “Staffed Hire” means hire including only those staff and duties expressly listed in the Booking Confirmation. “Services” means the applicable hire and any agreed staffing or additional services.
1.4 “Fee” means the hire price and agreed extras before VAT, unless the Booking Confirmation states otherwise. “Deposit” means 30% of the Fee, being an identified component of the total Fee whether paid separately or within a single full payment. “Event” includes any filming, preparation, production, catering, demonstration or other approved use.
1.5 References to writing include email. If the Booking Confirmation expressly conflicts with these Terms, the Booking Confirmation prevails only to the extent of the stated conflict, except where prohibited by law.
2. THE CONTRACT
2.1 Quotations and marketing materials are invitations to enquire and not binding offers. A booking becomes binding only when we issue the Booking Confirmation. You must check it promptly and notify us of any errors.
2.2 These Terms and the Booking Confirmation constitute the entire agreement for the Services, subject to any expressly incorporated hire schedule, inventory or safety rules. Changes must be confirmed by us in writing.
2.3 You warrant that you contract for business purposes and have authority to bind the named Client. If you are booking as a consumer, tell us before confirmation so that appropriate consumer terms can be supplied.
3. BOOKINGS AND PERMITTED USE
3.1 The booking is for the stated Hire Period and approved purpose only. No assignment, subletting, ticketed public access, filming beyond the approved scope, or use of other rooms is permitted without prior written consent.
3.2 You must provide reasonably requested information about attendance, intended activities, food production, equipment loads, deliveries and any special risks before confirmation. Occupancy must not exceed the agreed maximum or lawful safe capacity.
3.3 The Client is responsible for its employees, contractors, suppliers, performers, invitees and guests (“Client Personnel”). We may refuse entry or stop unsafe or unlawful activity where reasonably necessary.
4. PRICE AND PAYMENT
4.1 The Fee and any VAT will be stated in the Booking Confirmation. Agreed extras, overtime, damage and additional cleaning may be charged separately under these Terms.
4.2 Unless otherwise agreed in writing, a Deposit of 30% is due within three calendar days after the Booking Confirmation. The balance is due no later than 30 calendar days before the Hire Period begins.
4.3 For bookings confirmed fewer than 30 days before the Hire Period, the full Fee is due within three calendar days of confirmation and in all cases before access is granted, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
4.4 Payment may be made by bank transfer or an accepted card. Where payment is made using an eligible commercial credit or debit card issued for business use, we may charge a card administration fee of up to 2% of the card payment, plus VAT where properly chargeable, but only to the extent permitted by law and not exceeding our actual recoverable cost. No card surcharge applies to consumer cards or any other payment for which a surcharge is prohibited. We will disclose any fee before payment is authorised.
4.5 If payment is overdue, we may, after written notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy where practicable, suspend access or terminate under Clause 10. We may charge statutory late-payment interest and compensation where the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies, without double recovery.
5. CHANGES TO HIRE
5.1 Requests to change dates, hours, permitted use, staffing, attendance or equipment must be made in writing and take effect only when we issue a revised Booking Confirmation.
5.2 A reduction in hours, space or staffing is not automatically refundable. If we agree a reduction, any adjustment will take account of Clause 6, avoidable costs and any ability to relet the released capacity. Additional services are subject to availability and revised charges.
5.3 The original date is not transferable at the Client’s discretion. Clause 11 applies where postponement is required by an event beyond our reasonable control.
6. CLIENT CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS
6.1 You may cancel only by written notice to matt@undergroundcookeryschool.com. Notice takes effect when received during normal business hours, or on the next business day if received outside those hours.
6.2 The cancellation charges in Clause 6.3 apply to the total Fee regardless of whether you paid a separate Deposit, instalments or the full Fee in a single payment. The Deposit forms part of, and is not added to, the cancellation charge.
6.3 Subject to Clauses 6.4–6.6, the maximum cancellation charge is: (a) more than 28 complete days before hire: 30% of the Fee; (b) 15–28 complete days: 50%; (c) 7–14 complete days: 75%; and (d) fewer than 7 complete days: 100%. Exactly 28 days falls in band (b). Any excess already paid will be refunded.
6.4 The charge is intended as a reasonable estimate of our legitimate loss from reserved capacity, foregone bookings, administration and committed costs, not a penalty. We will take reasonable steps to mitigate loss, including considering a replacement booking, and will not retain more than is legally recoverable. Costs saved and net sums recovered by reletting will be taken into account to avoid double recovery.
6.5 If we have incurred separately agreed, non-recoverable third-party costs, these may be recoverable only to the extent lawful, properly evidenced and not already reflected in the applicable cancellation charge. Any refund due will be made within 14 days after the amount is determined.
6.6 These cancellation provisions do not govern cancellation or postponement caused by our breach or a qualifying force majeure event under Clause 11; applicable law and the relevant clauses will govern instead.
6.7 Cancellation Before Payment. Where we have issued a Booking Confirmation and a legally binding Contract has been formed, the Client remains liable for any cancellation charge properly due under Clause 6.3, whether or not the Deposit, any instalment or the full Fee has been paid. If the amount paid is less than the cancellation charge lawfully due, the Client must pay the outstanding amount within 14 days of receipt of our written cancellation invoice. Any charge remains subject to Clauses 6.4–6.6, applicable law and our duty to take reasonable steps to mitigate loss. Failure to pay the Deposit does not, of itself, cancel the Contract or release the Client from obligations already incurred, unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing. This clause does not apply where no binding Contract has been formed.
7. OUR OBLIGATIONS AND STAFFING
7.1 We will make the agreed Kitchen and specified equipment available with reasonable care and skill and in a condition reasonably suitable for the approved use, subject to disclosed limitations and the Client’s own suitability checks.
7.2 For Dry Hire, we do not provide chefs, food-production supervision, ingredients or food safety management unless expressly agreed. For Staffed Hire, our personnel perform only the tasks and hours specified in the Booking Confirmation; the Client remains responsible for its own activities and Client Personnel.
7.3 We may make a reasonable equivalent substitution of equipment or space where necessary, provided this does not materially undermine the agreed use. Material changes will be discussed promptly and appropriate remedies considered.
8. CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES, FOOD SAFETY AND ACCESS
8.1 You are responsible for the conduct, competence and supervision of Client Personnel, for suitable risk assessments and method statements where appropriate, and for complying with health and safety, fire, food hygiene, allergen, licensing, employment and other laws applicable to your activities.
8.2 You must ensure that food prepared or supplied by you is safe, traceable and appropriately labelled; that relevant allergen information is communicated; and that any food-business registration, approvals, training or certificates required for your operations are in place. Responsibility for any food or service expressly supplied by us remains with us to the extent required by law.
8.3 Client Personnel must follow reasonable site instructions, emergency procedures, equipment operating guidance and access restrictions. No dangerous, illegal or unusually high-risk activity or alteration to utilities, extraction or equipment is permitted without prior written approval.
8.4 You must promptly report accidents, breakages, defects and near misses. You must not attempt repairs. We may suspend an unsafe activity or require a person to leave where reasonably necessary.
8.5 Deliveries, waste removal, storage, loading, photography and access outside the Hire Period require prior agreement. We are not responsible for goods left on site except to the extent liability cannot lawfully be excluded.
9. EQUIPMENT, CLEANING, DAMAGE AND INSURANCE
9.1 You must use equipment only for its intended purpose and return the Kitchen, utensils and equipment in substantially the condition provided, fair wear and tear excepted. Any inventory or check-in/check-out record forms evidence of condition but is not conclusive.
9.2 You are liable for the reasonable documented cost of repairing or replacing property damaged by your breach, negligence or that of Client Personnel, excluding fair wear and tear and pre-existing defects. We will act reasonably to mitigate loss and avoid betterment.
9.3 You must leave the Kitchen clean, safe and free of your food, packaging and waste unless an alternative cleaning package is expressly included. Reasonable evidenced additional cleaning, waste disposal and overtime charges may be invoiced where required by your use.
9.4 You must maintain suitable public liability insurance and, where appropriate, product liability and employer’s liability insurance, with limits appropriate to your activities, and provide evidence on reasonable request before hire. Any minimum limit specified in the Booking Confirmation applies.
9.5 You are responsible for your own property and insurance for stock, equipment, cancellation and business interruption. Nothing in this clause relieves us of liability for our own negligence or other non-excludable liability.
10. DEFAULT, SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION
10.1 We may suspend access or terminate by written notice where you materially breach these Terms, fail to pay sums due after reasonable notice, use the premises unlawfully or unsafely, or create an immediate material safety risk. Where a breach is capable of remedy, we will ordinarily give a reasonable opportunity to remedy it, taking account of the proximity of the hire.
10.2 Termination does not automatically entitle us to retain every payment. We may recover only lawful amounts due for services provided, loss caused by breach and properly recoverable costs, with credit for costs avoided and mitigation.
10.3 Where we cancel for reasons within our reasonable control and not caused by Client default, we will refund sums paid for the unavailable Services and remain responsible for any additional liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
10.4 Termination does not affect accrued rights or provisions intended to survive, including payment, liability, damage and dispute provisions.
11. EVENTS OUTSIDE OUR REASONABLE CONTROL (FORCE MAJEURE)
11.1 Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform to the extent directly caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including external interruption of electricity, gas or water; actual or credible threatened terrorism; police cordons or emergency-service restrictions; government orders; fire; flood; severe weather; civil unrest or other comparable events. This does not excuse poor maintenance, avoidable failures or negligence.
11.2 Where an event makes the Kitchen unsafe, unlawful or materially impracticable to use during the Hire Period, we may postpone the affected booking and will notify you promptly, taking reasonable steps to mitigate the disruption.
11.3 Our primary remedy will be to offer an equivalent replacement hire at the original agreed price, carrying forward payments in full without a postponement administration charge. We will use reasonable endeavours to offer at least three genuinely available dates within six months, considering the original day, duration, staffing and known essential purpose of the booking.
11.4 You agree to cooperate reasonably in choosing a replacement date. Where suitable dates are reasonably available, you will not be entitled to an automatic refund solely because the original date cannot proceed, except to the extent required by applicable law.
11.5 If no reasonably suitable date can be offered, the booking’s essential purpose can no longer reasonably be achieved, or continued postponement is unreasonable, either party may terminate the affected booking. Refunds and any recoverable expenses will be determined by the contract and applicable law, including where relevant the Law Reform (Frustrated Contracts) Act 1943.
11.6 Where the Kitchen remains safely and lawfully usable and we are ready to provide the agreed Services, a general concern about a possible outage or security incident does not alone excuse Client cancellation; Clause 6 will ordinarily apply.
11.7 This clause does not exclude liability or repayment obligations that cannot lawfully be excluded. If a disruption affects only part of the Hire Period, the parties will discuss a reasonable adjustment, partial rescheduling or other lawful remedy.
12. LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY
12.1 Nothing excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
12.2 Subject to Clause 12.1, neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profit or business opportunity, except to the extent such exclusion is unreasonable or unenforceable under applicable law.
12.3 Subject to Clause 12.1 and applicable law, our aggregate liability arising out of the booking shall not exceed 100% of the Fee paid or payable for the affected booking. The reasonableness and scope of this cap, particularly for property damage and direct losses, require legal review.
12.4 You shall indemnify us against reasonable third-party claims, losses and costs arising from your unlawful activities, negligent acts or breach of these Terms, to the extent caused by you or Client Personnel and not by our negligence or breach. This indemnity is subject to applicable law and our duty to mitigate.
13. COMMUNICATIONS AND COMPLAINTS
13.1 Notices and enquiries should be sent to matt@undergroundcookeryschool.com or The Underground Cookery School, 201/203 City Road, London EC1V 1JN. Telephone: 020 3981 7816.
13.2 Please notify us promptly of complaints so we can investigate and, where possible, resolve matters. Formal notices must be in writing.
14. DATA PROTECTION
14.1 We will handle personal information in accordance with applicable data protection law and our published Privacy Policy at www.undergroundcookeryschool.com. The Client is responsible for having a lawful basis to share personal information about Client Personnel with us.
15. GENERAL
15.1 Neither party may assign the agreement without the other’s prior written consent, not to be unreasonably withheld, except that we may assign to a successor operating the business without reducing your contractual protections.
15.2 If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder continues to apply. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver. No third party has rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 unless expressly stated.
15.3 These Terms do not create a tenancy or grant exclusive possession or any interest in land. We retain reasonable access for safety, security and building operations, without unreasonably interfering with the agreed hire.
16. GOVERNING LAW
16.1 The agreement and non-contractual disputes are governed by the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales shall have jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory rules.