Our History
In the past decade Brisbane restaurateur John Kilroy and his landmark Steak Specialty establishment Cha Cha Char Wine Bar and Grill is widely acknowledged as being the major contributors to the exciting reformation, that has swept through the Australian red meat industry. John (or JK as he has come to be affectionately known) has been one of the key architects in the rebuilding and repositioning of beef's image in the minds of restaurant and hotel diners across the country. The ongoing boom in quality steak dining venues across Queensland and eastern Australia is in no small way linked to the original vision for beef as a top - end restaurant product pioneered and implemented by John Kilroy with the opening of Brisbane’s iconic inner city eatery Cha Cha Char Wine Bar and Grill, opening in 1997 on the river in Brisbane’s Eagle Street Pier.
At the time of its opening in 1997, the concept of a top - end steak dining venue was considered a somewhat "risky" move within the food service industry as traditionally, beef products had a reputation for inconsistency and a lack of clear identity behind red meat.
Cha Cha Char however redefined beef as a popular dining option by cultivating the use of thorough - chain quality control mechanisms to eliminate inconsistency and to establish a distinct identity behind each different product on the menu. In much the same way that wines from different parts of Australia are celebrated for their regional characteristics, Cha Cha Char set about finding similar points of difference between beef sourced from various regions and in turn Cha Cha Char promoted beef as a valuable and diverse product within the restaurant industry rather than as a commodity.
What emerged was a beef menu unlike anything seen previously in the Australian food service scene - crammed with information about each individual supplier, their breeds of cattle, local soil types, the pastures grazed in the paddock and different grains and supplements fed during the production process, the age of the animal at processing, ageing processes and other information.
Cha Cha Char has been a consistent supporter of industry QA systems - most notably the Meat Standards Australia grading program - as a means of delivering consistently high eating quality through tenderness, juiciness and flavour. John has personally been a major catalyst behind the emergence of beef brands and labels, highlighting points of difference between various products and also aided with advice for developers of branded beef products.
In a classic case of 'imitation being the sincerest form of flattery', the principles pioneered by Cha Cha Char have since become widely adopted across the Australian food service industry and with Char being recognized as Australia’s most awarded Steak Restaurant and on a personal note with John's passion and knowledge of red meat leading him to becoming an ' in-demand' speaker at industry gatherings throughout the beef supply chain.
John now travels widely throughout Australia speaking to beef producers, feedlot operators, processors and consumer groups with emphasis on changing consumer attitudes to beef and also means by which the industry can best address these challenges.
Cha Cha Char led industry standards with regard to the emphasis placed on educating diners and beef eaters alike about important issues including correct storage, handling and cooking techniques with a view to maximising flavours and tenderness from each individual cut. John has personally been closely involved with the 'Trailblazing Paddock to Palates Taste Test Series' with Cha Cha Char leading the challenge in familiarising Australian diners with exciting new beef products such as the ‘Wagyu’ beef.
Cha Cha Char Restaurant regularly conducts beef tastings - where clients have the opportunity to sample cuts of beef from a diverse range of feeding regimes, ages, breeds and geographic areas, Cooking demonstrations - undertaken regularly for the public and industry at Black Pearl Epicure, The Brisbane Home Show, Masters of Beef classes and Royal Brisbane Shows. John has, using his extensive knowledge of beef and Cha Cha Char as his platform has also over time, become a widely quoted source within the extensive metropolitan and rural print and electronic media on matters relating to beef and consumer trends.
Success, at the restaurant level has inevitably followed with Cha Cha Char now being arguably Australia's best known steak restaurant, attracting widespread national and international acknowledgement. As well as a long list of awards earned by Cha Cha Char including several American Express and Restaurant & catering Australia Best Steak Restaurant in Australia titles, John himself has been acknowledged for his lasting industry contribution. John has personally been chosen as a finalist in the industry's paramount Rural Press Beef Achiever of the Year Award on several occasions and has earned several Red Meat Innovation Awards, distributed annually.