Brisbane’s soon-to-open The Calile Hotel has revealed executive chef Kitak Lee will join the opening team.
Lee joins the hotel after heading up two-hatted restaurant The Table at Kuro Kisumé in Melbourne, and prior to that, worked at Sydney’s Momofuku Seiobo, Cho Cho San and Bilson’s.
In his new role, Lee will curate the menu and cocktail list at the hotel’s Lobby Bar, which will open in September.
“The Calile Hotel’s Lobby Bar menus will draw on the best elements of old-world hospitality, interpreted in a contemporary way,” he says. “In a sense we are finding a new take on classic hotel menus for the modern era. They will reflect the Queensland lifestyle, with light, fresh, local ingredients including Queensland fruits and excellent Australian wines presented exceptionally well.”
Katrina Ford returns to her home state to run the Lobby Bar’s front-of-house, after years working in some of Sydney and London’s top establishments, including Merivale’s Coogee Pavilion, Mr. Wong and Ms G’s, Intercontinental Double Bay, Guillaume and London’s Shoreditch House.
“This is a place where you will walk in and feel instantly calm and welcomed, as though you have escaped from city life,” she says. “Everything from the décor to the music is designed to put you at ease.”
In addition to Lobby Bar, The Calile Hotel has confirmed it will include a flagship restaurant called Hellenika, offering a modern Greek menu, plus a new micro-precinct adjoining the hotel called Ada Lane, featuring five new street-level eateries and bars.