Chef couple will break fine dining mode in d’Arenberg’s new Cube restaurant
EXPLOSIVE colours, eclectic artworks, and now two of SA’s most adventurous chefs — our state's most ambitious restaurant begins to take shape.
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THE latest piece in the puzzle has been revealed in what has become the year’s most talked about winery development in South Australia.
Brendan Wessels and his wife Lindsay Durr have been appointed as the chefs to take on the Cube’s high-end dining restaurant on the third floor of the ambitious project, which is expected to open late this year.
Wessels will be head chef with Ms Durr assisting in research, development and the final delivery of what is expected to be an adventurous culinary experience.
The two Michelin star trained chefs have worked at Daylesford in one of Victoria’s most loved restaurants, The Lake House, and most recently at Leonard’s Mill in Second Valley on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
They garnered two forks in The Advertiser Food Guide 2015 on their opening season at Leonard’s Mill, with restaurant reviewer Simon Wilkinson describing their food as ambitious and head-turning.
It’s expected they’ll continue in the same style at the new Cube restaurant but with a fun side, aiming to be radically different to anything else happening in SA, according to Mr Wessels.
“Every aspect of the restaurant has been carefully considered to create an environment that engages the senses and has a playful element to it,” he said.
D’Arenberg Cube creator and chief winemaker Chester Osborn will include “eclectic artwork pieces” in the restaurant to add to its colour, while it’s expected other elements like oak barrel tables and “explosively coloured” chairs will add to the unique ambience.
“We want to incorporate elements of Chester’s colourful and often unusual personality,” Mr Wessels said.
“The vision is to have a dining environment that is free from the sterile and often too serious model that currently dominates.”
The current d’Arry’s Verandah restaurant will continue to operate as usual when the new venue opens.