New Stokehouse’s milestone 5 Star Green Star rating
The Van Haandel Group is stoked to announce it has confirmed the date of the highly anticipated re-launch of Stokehouse St Kilda, opening on 6th December 2016.
The Group is also pleased to confirm it has appointed Ollie Hansford as the Head Chef of Stokehouse St Kilda.
The iconic Stokehouse restaurant on St Kilda Beach was devastated by fire in 2014. The new Stokehouse St Kilda building has been designed by the renowned architect Robert Simeoni, with interiors by the much respected hospitality experts Pascale Gomes-McNabb (first floor) and George Livisiannis (ground floor – Pontoon & Paper Fish).
The building will be unprecedented as the first Design and Built 5 Star Green star building of its type. Whilst achieving this milestone has added a significant amount of time to the rebuild project, and an additional investment beyond $1.6m, Frank van Haandel could not be prouder of this achievement. “This building design is on a world scale and there is nothing like it, “The geothermal technology alone includes 8.5 kilometres of continuous copper piping, down to 80metres below the building – those works added 6 months. It is daunting now to reflect on the work which has gone into achieving our 5 stars – however the results are incredibly exciting, said Frank.
The approach to the new Stokehouse building will be quite dramatic, with the entire ground floor buried under a sand dune, highlighting the 1.6m gap between the top of the sand dune and the Stokehouse Restaurant which will appear as if it is floating above on the first floor. Access to Stokehouse will be through the sand dune adding to the theatrical sense of arrival.
Pascale Gomes McNabb is no stranger to Stokehouse – having overseen the restaurant refurbishment in 2010, so she was a natural appointment to oversee the interiors of the new space.
“We want people to walk in and still have that same Stokehouse feeling – the laid back charm perfect for a relaxed lunch or dinner, overlooking the water, with the same great atmosphere, welcome feel and generosity, We also want to pay the utmost respect to our beachside location, and as part of that we have managed to source reclaimed timber from the fire breaks around the Dandenongs for use on our floors and walls,” said Frank.
The restaurant will seat 130 guests for lunch and dinner every day (except for Christmas Day), with the new Stokehouse seeing the exciting introduction of a dedicated 12.5m oval shaped bar which straddles the restaurant and the outdoor terrace. The bar, lounge area and terrace will accommodate up 120 guests, with an all-day bar menu, allowing visitors to walk in at any time, bringing flexibility and versatility. The new terrace will be far more user friendly and provide almost year round usability with its own open fire.
Head Chef Ollie Hansford, rejoins the Stokehouse family, having previously worked at Stokehouse Q and Stokehouse City, and having been named Queensland Young Chef of the Year in 2015. Ollie will work closely with Executive Chef Richard Ousby to bring Stokehouse back to life with a fresh, predominantly seafood driven menu.
“I am very excited to be back in the Group, and in such a prestigious restaurant as Stokehouse St Kilda. I am very much looking forward to putting my head down and really pushing forward,” said Ollie.
“A lot of thought and effort has gone into it to ensure everything from the menu, the branding and other key touch points really inject what we loved about the old Stokehouse Restaurant,” added Frank.
“Stokehouse St Kilda was everybody’s holiday house and I am just so happy to open
it back up for the public to enjoy,” added Frank van Haandel.
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