Celebrity chef Adam Swanson no longer owns upmarket takeaway joint Cheeky Chook Eats, with new owners keeping everything people love about the place – except one.
Celebrity chef Adam Swanson opened Cheeky Chook Eats in 2019, just before the pandemic hit, when takeaway food options were the only way forward.
In July this year, Adam Talbot and Jimi Hinter bought the business off him.
But the trio’s working relationship began long before they purchased the healthy takeaway bar.
“I’ve known and worked with Adam Swanson on various projects for about seven or eight years,” Adam says.
“First worked together in the Barossa, and then I was working for a hotel chain that he was writing the menus for so [Jimi and I] shifted to Western Australia, and he flew out a couple of times and consulted the kitchens as part of the hotel group.
“We moved back to Adelaide two years ago, when we were on our way back over, Adam [Swanson] reached out to me. So once we got back in Adelaide, I came and worked here [at Cheeky Chook] for about a year and a half, working in the kitchen.
“I left, went back to the hotels. Then Adam opened up Ocean Bar & Kitchen, so I’m the general manager down there.”
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“We were sort of looking for something of our own anyway.”
Jimi says that Cheeky Chook being already established was a help, but meant a cautious approach to change.
“It’s much easier, in a way, to take over something like this that already has a brand and a name and build upon that,” he says.
“In a way it’s also harder in a sense, to get away from the core of what Cheeky Chook has been for some time. It’s been five years now, but so we don’t want to rush in and change everything all at once.”
“I think on that though, given the reputation that Cheeky Chook does have already, the bones in a way will remain the same,” Adam says.
“We will just add to it, but as Jimi was saying, it will take a bit of time [and] we will introduce some new menu items. We’re looking into a line of ready, take-home meals as well.”
One change coming is special community nights.
“We’ve already spoken to a lot of the business owners around, in the corner, working together with them and to promote different nights with the wine bar using produce from the butcher and have a little community,” Jimi says.
“Like Friday night special where we’ll do like a rump and red. So we’ll get steaks from Three Little Pigs, we’ll get red wine from Grace Under Pressure next door and be an in-house special, where it’s more of a dining experience, rather than just that takeaway,” Adam says.
“And obviously we’ve got the charcoal grill in there, so the flavours are like next to nothing else really.”
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A Cheeky spread“To my knowledge, [when Adam Swanson opened Cheeky Chook] he wanted a break from the restaurant industry and wanted to do something a little bit different,” he says.
“Obviously, he used to have a restaurant in Sydney, Lot. 1. Quite often he’d take his staff out after service or whatever, and over there they had some higher end style takeaway shops and chicken shops and things like that.
“At the time, there was nothing like that in Adelaide.”
Jimi adds “it’s not your average chicken shop” while highlighting Cheeky Chook’s offering of “fresh salads and produce [and] more upmarket food that people can just grab and go”.
Adam and Jimi say the main sellers, menu wise, are the burgers.
“West fried burger, there’s Betty’s beef. There’s a New York Betty, there’s a mushroom burger which is vegetarian, or can be made vegan,” Adam says.
Other menu items include a cooked chicken, hearty sandwiches, schnitzels, nuggets and more.
In terms of the interiors, Adam says he wants to give the place a “bit of a freshen up” – which will include painting over Adam’s Swanson’s personalised mural.
“We’re going to work out exactly what we’re doing with that wall!” Adam says.
“I mean it is sort of iconic but we’ll work it out.”
Cheeky Chook is located at 438 Henley Beach Road, Lockleys and is open from Monday to Saturday from 11am until 8pm, then Sunday from 4:30pm until 8pm.
Connect with the business on Instagram for more.
Will have to paint over this now