Corey Costelloe has left Hunter Street Hospitality after spending 15 years with the group, formerly known as Rockpool Dining Group.
Costelloe first joined as a sous chef under Neil Perry, working his way up to head chef, executive chef, and finally culinary director of Rockpool Bar & Grill.
“I started my career at Rockpool; I helped carry the furniture in, placed every chair, delivered the light globes, and spent three days with the team watching it all come together,” the chef said in an interview with Career Masters.
But Costelloe is not the only staff member to depart the group of late, with other senior staff also exiting the business.
“It’s just the business scaling down, condensing numbers – there’s not as much room in the company,” the chef told Broadsheet.
Last April, The AFR reported Quadrant Private Equity was undergoing a review of its hospitality businesses, Pacific Concepts and Hunter Street, which operated Bar Patron, Fratelli Fresh, The Bavarian, Rosetta Sydney and Melbourne, Spice Temple, El Camino Cantina, Munich Brahaus, and several Sake locations at its peak.
The group has shuttered a number of venues over the years including Rosetta in Sydney’s CBD and The Bavarian in Bondi.
Costelloe has swiftly moved onto the next chapter of his career, and will headline a one-week pop-up at Kittawa on King Island in May.
The residency will see the chef cook over fire and work with Tasmania’s finest produce including local crayfish to prepare four-person dinners.