MasterChef star Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis to open new Adelaide restaurant Olive on Pirie St, taking over from Sashi Cheliah

MasterChef star Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis have unveiled plans to launch a new city restaurant in the space previously occupied by a fellow reality TV favourite.

Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis are expanding their food empire, taking over the city restaurant previously run by fellow MasterChef star Sashi Cheliah.

The duo will rebrand Cheliah’s Gaja by Sashi on Pirie St into new Mediterranean-focused Olive Restaurant, which is set to open next month.

Chryssidis said the new venue was the “next logical step” for the pair, who launched Eleven on Waymouth St in 2021 and Lou’s Place in the Barossa Valley in 2020.

Callum Hann and Themis Chryssidis with newborn baby Leni. The duo are taking over Sashi Cheliah’s old Pirie St restaurant, which will now have a Mediterranean, Morrocan and Middle Eastern cuisine. Picture: The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

“It was always part of the strategy going forward. Our group is built to grow,” said Chryssidis, who welcomed his first child, Leni, with wife Jasmine, in late August.

“He (Sashi) was ready to move on so it seemed like a good opportunity to get what is arguably going to be the best food strip going around in the city.”

Cheliah revealed this week he sold his flagship Adelaide restaurant in August to focus on projects interstate and overseas.

MasterChef favourite Hann and Chryssidis, who co-founded Sprout Cooking School in 2011, said Olive will offer all-day dining, and be a more casual alternative to their city restaurant Eleven.

MasterChef’s Sashi Cheliah, second from right, with staff members at the opening of Pirie St restaurant Gaja by Sashi in November 2019. Picture: Dean Martin/AAP Image

“It’s not designed to be a super premium venue. We realised that’s hurt us a little bit at Eleven to be perfectly honest,” a candid Chryssidis said.

“Eleven is perceived to be a fine dining venue and it’s not – it’s probably cheaper than most in its field. So we’ve learned from that and we want to keep it light, bright and vibrant at Olive.

“The style of venue on Pirie St needs to be accessible and attainable for people who work in the city or want to come in for a quality meal.”

Chryssidis said Olive’s cuisine will be a ”true taste of the Mediterranean”.

“And when I say Mediterranean, I don’t mean Italian, I don’t mean Greek. It’s this phenomenal melting pot of food and culture and we want to show everyone what it’s got, from Morocco to the Middle East,” he said.

“It’s going to focus on flavour bombs, flavour first. Big, loud flavours on the plate but also a nice vibrant, energetic restaurant.”