2012 Chef of the Year Kym Machin to open cafe

Winner of last year's brisbanetimes.com.au Chef of the Year, Kym Machin has been a busy boy.

Not only has he been consulting for Andrew Baturo (of Libertine) with his new bar venture, but he's been heading up the kitchen at the newly renovated City Hall. Somewhere he's found time to plan his own new project. His as yet unnamed cafe in Jindalee in Brisbane's western suburbs is due to open in May. It seems an unusual move for a chef who's normal workplace is the CBD (Spring, Urbane etc), but it's actually Machin's home turf and while it may be a cafe in name, Machin has big plans.

"We have a few good cafes nearby, but we don't see why a good casual place can't be a big name either – like Bills in Sydney."

With Machin behind the burners, that the food will be of a high standard goes without saying, with Machin tapping in to all the local producers and growers he used during his restaurant days to provide top-quality produce.

"We will definitely be doing better food than your standard cafe, but we want it to be healthy too – the kind of place you can eat at every weekend."

As well as dining in the 50-seater cafe (which will also be extended to include an al fresco area), Machin and wife Jade will be offering high-quality takeaway meals.

"Everything will be made fresh: perhaps I'll make up a batch of gnocchi with a Napoli sauce or a proper bolognaise. We're going to sell the meals at affordable prices, with the majority not over $12. The idea is to give people good, substantial and healthy options rather than some unhealthy frozen dinner."

To start, Machin says the licensed cafe will be open for breakfast and lunch, and possibly dinner on Friday nights. And just to make sure he doesn't get bored, he's currently negotiating a second lease on a property in Paddington as well as another in the CBD. Stay tuned.