Rick Shores head chef goes bankrupt

James Brady, the head chef at top Gold Coast restaurant Rick Shores is in financial strife.

Brady, who started his food career peeling potatoes in a famous London fish-and-chip shop and who has operated restaurants in Surfers Paradise, Chevron Island, Robina and Burleigh Heads, has been declared bankrupt.

The company Brady’s Restaurants, owned by his wife Kelly, has been put in liquidation.

Brady owes a total of $81,670.

The bankruptcy is part of the saga of closures now striking the restaurant industry on the Gold Coast over the past few months. The Brady demise is just another chapter in that story.

Brady’s Restaurants had been operating under the trading name Mr Pigs Bakehouse.

The business has now opted for voluntary liquidation with debts of $377,332 which include $107,000 in tax and $33,000 in staff entitlements.

Brady’s Restaurants was set up in August 2015 in the lead up to Mr Pigs opening in a new dining area, The Kitchens at the Robina Town Centre.

Mr Brady seemed to be doing well, taking on the head chef role at top Burleigh Heads restaurant Rick Shores. He has now been sent on a month-long culinary adventure in Asia while the restaurant is temporarily closed.

A post on the Rick Shores Instagram page, as quoted in the Gold Coast Bulletin, spelled it out for customers.

“Our doors may be temporarily closed, however Head Chef James Brady has not stopped working. We have sent him on a month long Asian culinary adventure taking him from Seoul all the way to Singapore.

“He will be visiting old friends in some of the best kitchens on the continent and learning from some industry greats.

 “We are very much looking forward to his return and can’t wait to see how his journey will influence our new spring menu.”

Jason Bettles, of Worrells, has been appointed to liquidate the Brady company.

He has also been appointed bankruptcy trustee to Mr Brady.

Leon Gettler - 25th July 2018