Kingsford The Barossa welcomes chef Jake Kellie to Orleana restaurant - Travel Australia

Sep 01, 2025

Welcoming a new chef, this stunning property has become one of the best spots for a long lunch in the Barossa Valley.

Kingsford The Barossa has had many eras. First built in 1856 by Stephen King, a wealthy pastoralist who commissioned the Georgian-style sandstone homestead, it served as a place of residence and stop for travellers. Then it entered its Silver Screen era, when it was repurposed into a television set for one of Australia’s most beloved dramas, McLeod’s Daughters. Kingsford was featured as the fictional and iconic Drovers Run homestead in the series. When the show wrapped the property was transformed into a boutique hotel that welcomed a modern extension and renovation in 2021, which included the addition of stylish new suites, a pool, venue and restaurant space. Now, the picture-perfect property is entering a new era: its destination dining era.

Orleana’s new era

Orleana, the on-site restaurant, has just welcomed one of Australia’s most renowned chefs Jake Kellie, of Adelaide’s beloved arkhé, as Culinary Director. The beloved chef has introduced a new menu that is set to transform the restaurant into a must-do experience in the Barossa Valley.

Before even tasting the new menu at Orleana, you’ll fall in love with the restaurant just by looking at it. Tucked away at the rear of the property the 34-seat restaurant makes the most of its stunning location. With floor to ceiling windows making up three of the four walls of the restaurant, guests are treated to sweeping views of the rolling hills that occupy the 225-acre property. Orleana is an all-day dining venue (breakfast is exclusively for guests) and each time you dine you’re treated to what feels like a whole new view.

The sun dances along the hills from sunrise to sunset. In the morning soft, golden light fills the dining room as you watch kangaroos hop across the hills. At lunch time, the sun is high and the hills are the most vivid green. And at sunset is when you can watch as the sky slowly unravels from blue to pink and orange before the stars come out and light the night sky.

Local, sustainable and delicious

When it comes to the new menu you’ll be just as impressed. Kellie already has a deep knowledge of South Australian produce, but he has wasted no time immersing himself in the Barossa region by getting to know the local producers and all the abundance of goods the region has to offer.

“We’re very spoiled for producers out here,” says Kellie. “And we’re trying to keep everything as local as possible.”

From oyster mushrooms from The Dairyman Barossa (just 30 minutes from Kingsford), Wirra Lea Farm beef (also just 30 minutes away), native Australian Lyndoch duck from a local Barossa supplier, South Australian rock lobster from Ferguson Australia, Coffin Bay oysters from Gazander Oysters and the list goes on.

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The result? A seasonal a la carte menu that blends the best of the Barossa and South Australia and is something a little different from what we’ve seen from Kellie in recent years. At arkhé Kellie shows what we can do over an open-flame grill, at Orleana he is putting his foundational years of his career into practice. And for Kellie it’s like riding a bike.

“I think for me this is an opportunity to be a bit more diverse as a chef, because I think people think: Jake just cooks with fire”, says Kellie. “Yeah I do, but some people don’t know that I trained at The Ledbury, I trained at The Fat Duck, I started my apprenticeship in Sydney at Aria, so I do have that European cooking in my blood. So throwing something in a pan these days is a little harder for me than throwing something on the grill, but I love going back to that as well.”

The menu

You won’t be able to try every dish on the menu in one sitting, but there are some that are simply unmissable. For snacks the Raw beef tartlet made from Wirra Lea Farm rump and paired with gochujang sauce and Zucchini flower stuffed with a Spencer Gulf prawn mousse and placed on a bed of sauce diavolo are a must. Both dishes show that Kellie embraces a little spice, which perfectly balances the rich, full flavours of the beef and prawn.

There’s nothing that makes you feel more comfortable at a fine dining restaurant than a dish inviting you to use your hands and that’s exactly what the 2 Gulf Crabs starter does. Crab meat is mixed with some chopped chives, olive oil and lemon zest, covered with a brown butter emulsion and served in a crab shell with a generously sized house-made mushroom brioche alongside it. Don’t be shy, break the bread with your hands and dip and scoop the crab mixture onto the bread. You’ll be forgiven for sweeping the bread along the inside of the shell to soak up whatever you can’t get on your spoon.

For mains the hero is the Lyndoch roasted duck. The duck is sourced from a Barossa producer named Ryan – who hand delivers the duck himself – and what is particularly impressive is the preparation of this dish. The duck is dry-aged for two weeks. It’s marinated in shiokoji – a traditional Japanese seasoning of a traditional Japanese fermented rice, salt, and water – and then plunged into cold water to set the skin and then aged in the fridge. The leg meat, heart and liver of the duck is minced together to create a little choux farcis, which is served on the side, so no part of the duck goes to waste.

It’s all in the details

The thought and care is not limited to the menu at Orleana. Kellie and the team have also commissioned from Ringwood Art Co in Thebarton to create the hand spun plates. Dog Boy Knives in Adelaide crafted 40 steak knives from Blackwood exclusively for Orleana. And how can we talk about the Barossa without talking about the wine? While the list is still being refined you can count on local winemakers like Tscharke Wines, Langmeil, Henschke and Hentley Farm to feature.

Of course, Kellie still is not hanging up the apron at arkhé so when he’s not at Orleana, the kitchen will be in the trusted hands of Orleana’s Head Chef Eom Jae Hoon, also known as Chef Hoon, who comes from Flock Hill Estate in New Zealand. Chef Hoon has collaborated closely with Kellie on the menu and executes it to perfection.

While we envision Orleana fast becoming the go-to dining spot for wine enthusiasts tasting their way through the Barossa, it’s also an easy 50-minute drive from Adelaide. Locals and tourists basing themselves in the city that make the trip out will be well-rewarded for their efforts.