24 October 2022
From the hottest kitchens in Sydney, London and Singapore, award-winning chef Jake Kellie is proud to call South Australia, Australia’s food and wine capital, his new home.
With a CV featuring an impressive list of Michelin star restaurants, Jake is now turning-up the heat on Adelaide’s food scene, having launched his critically-acclaimed open-flame restaurant, arkhé, in September 2021.
Opening his own restaurant has been a dream of Jake’s since he was a teenager.
So, when a stunning heritage-listed restaurant space in the inner-city neighbourhood of Norwood became available — and a chance to showcase South Australia’s renowned produce and wine was calling — Jake made his move down south.
Having never visited Adelaide prior to the move, New South Wales-born Jake admits the move was initially a gamble, but after falling in love with the space that would become arkhé, he has no regrets.
“It was the venue, the space, the opportunity to use the amazing produce this state has,” he said.
“I guess you could say it was a bit of a gamble…but I feel like it’s one hundred percent paid off.”
Jake is just one of many hospitality professionals who’ve made the move to South Australia in recent years.
Young-gun chefs Mug Chen and Chia Wu have also moved to South Australia from Taiwan via Melbourne, opening their already acclaimed restaurant, Muni, in the Southern Vales town of Willunga.
Jake says this influx of chefs is creating a “great energy” among the state’s hospitality industry.
“We’re attracting chefs from other states…I think in the next 12 to 24 months, South Australia will become a really hot place to be.”
South Australia’s reputation — both among chefs and locals — for its strong food and wine permeates throughout the state, including in the vibrant events scene.
This November, Jake is curating the food offering at the Harvest Rock Festival — a two-day live music festival “set to taste as good as it sounds”.
Jake will be running his own on-site restaurant, WILDWOOD, with world-leading guest chefs and curating Feastiville, a small village of Adelaide’s finest restaurants and eateries.
“It’s almost like a food, music and culture festival rolled together…the food’s going to be as good as the music,” Jake said.
“We’re pretty spoiled with choice…you know, the amount of restaurants we have here in South Australia which will all be involved.”
From walkability and abundant green space to festivals and fresh produce markets, Jake’s found Adelaide provides the essential ingredients for great work-life balance: something that’s become increasingly important to him as a new parent.
“People want to come to move here because it’s more accessible … it’s easy to get around; the cost of living is a lot cheaper here than in Sydney or Melbourne,” he said.
“There’s always something happening…and while it’s obviously a little bit of a change of pace to Sydney and Singapore and all these other bigger places I’ve been — I’m really enjoying it.
Jake hasn’t looked back since embracing the holistic lifestyle on offer in South Australia.
“Adelaide 100 per cent feels like home.”