The Baker’s Son café in Silverdale sits out front of Dad’s Pies bakery, a purpose-built food factory that makes a range of savoury products for retail outlets around New Zealand, and for its main export markets of Australia and Japan.

"We have always had a café or lunch bar as part of the bakery," says owner and founder Eddie Grooten. "It’s how we trial our products and get customer feedback. It’s a good stand-alone business in its own right, too, so we recently renovated the café interior and extended the range of food. It’s a lot more comfortable, spacious and modern."

After initially considering a plywood finish, they were introduced to Bates Surfaces who make PlyPlay and Fenta. Fenta commercial ceiling tiles became the natural choice, as they provide a good fire rating and hygienic finish. Normally a white satin or gloss, Fenta tiles can also be digitally printed. Eddie chose a printed plywood image to get the character and aesthetics of timber, but with all the benefits that Fenta brings in terms of durability, maintenance and compliance.

"We wanted a hygienic ceiling," says Eddie. "In any food premises, it has to be easy to maintain and easy to clean." Coated in Auckland on an advanced UV line, the tile coating has antimicrobial bio silver molecules. This makes the surface uniquely suitable for ceilings in food-prep areas, laboratories, commercial bathrooms and laundries — spaces where hygiene is critical.

The printed ceiling tiles are laid in the suspended ceiling grid so the grain pattern flows from tile to tile. The metal ceiling grid is powder-coated a light tan colour to tone in nicely with the print. Against white walls, and with black and gold accents, the interior feels modern, warm and elegant.

Digital printing onto Fenta tiles — encapsulated within the coating — is a product innovation affording greater design creativity in functional commercial ceilings. High-resolution printing gives designers enormous scope to communicate identity and personalise interiors with innovative graphics and large-format images.