Montrachet, Brisbane: Celebrity chef Shannon Kellam’s French restaurant enters administration

A celebrity chef’s hospitality empire has crumbled following the collapse of his eighth venue in the space of just six weeks.

Administrators were called in to take over award-winning chef Shannon Kellam’s French restaurant Montrachet, in Brisbane’s Bowen Hills, on Friday.

At the end of May, Mr Kellam’s hospitality company, BCN Events Group, entered voluntary liquidation resulting in seven of his venues shutting up shop and 90 staff sacked.

Mark Holland, Jamie Harris and Anthony Connelly of McGrathNicol have been appointed as administrators of Cuisinier Australis Pty Ltd which traded as Montrachet.

The restaurant will still trade as normal with administrators urging any interested buyers to contact them.

Montrachet first welcomed customers back in 2004 and was bought by Mr Kellam and his wife in 2015. 

‘It is with a heavy heart, that I regret to advise that we have made the very difficult decision to place the business into administration,’ he said in a statement.

‘We are very grateful for the ongoing support provided by our clientele, staff and suppliers over the past 20 years.’

It is the eighth venue under Mr Kellam to enter administration or liquidation since May 

Mr Kellam’s restaurant has won countless awards including best French restaurant in Australia on several occasions as well as two chef’s hats.

He’d told the Courier Mail last month his business’ insurance had more than doubled to $22,000, and gas and power bills had also skyrocketed. 

When his business BCN Events Group entered liquidation, his venues the Lumiere Culinary Studio in Newstead, Mica Brasserie in Newstead and the popular King Street Bakery in Bowen Hills all closed.

It’s understood 90 staff members across all seven venues have been terminated. 

Mr Holland, Mr Harris and Mr Connelly also handled these liquidations.

‘We intend to work with staff, customers and suppliers during this difficult time,’ Mr Holland said in a statement.

‘At this preliminary stage, BCN Events appears to be a casualty of the headwinds facing the hospitality industry.

‘In the meantime, we regret to advise there will be a disruption to the group’s ongoing operations and well-known Mica (Newstead and CBD) and King Street Bakery establishments will remain closed.

‘We are currently undertaking an urgent appraisal to consider options available.’ 

A separate Mica cafe is still operating in the Brisbane airport and does not appear to be involved in the closings.

It’s understood BCN Events Group suffered a $150,000 loss when floods left their businesses without any power in February, 2022.

Montrachet (interior pictured) will not close and administrators from McGrathNicol are encouraging anyone who is interested to consider buying it 

Mr Kellam’s other venues, like Lumiere Culinary Studio, the Kneadery, Mica and King Street Bakery have all shut down – although one Mica still operates out of Brisbane airport