After a seven-month stint at Botanic Gardens Restaurant, former The Pot namesake Emma McCaskill has joined the team at Sparkke at the Whitmore.

After leaving Hyde Park’s The Pot (now Nido) in October last year and spending the last seven months at Botanic Gardens Restaurant, Emma McCaskill has joined the team at Sparkke at the Whitmore.

The announcement comes just a little over a month after the female-led brewpub launched in early March.

Emma will start in the Sparkke kitchen on Tuesday, 23 April, and the chef is keen to work with the pub’s founding head brewer, Agi Gajic, to expand her brewing knowledge and create a menu that draws on her Indian heritage and works alongside the output of the 800-litre, two-vessel nanobrewery.

“This kitchen will be a collaborative space that supports and involves South Australian farmers and producers, whose hard work means we can create clean and balanced flavours, and deliver a special experience to people every day,” Emma says.

“I can’t wait to be immersed in the city’s west end community… We also hope to provide some food to people in need within the neighbourhood and we’ll be working to promote sustainable cooking by using the trimmings from our kitchen to make jams and curry bases that we sell on the premises in our bottle shop.”

Before leaving The Pot, Emma distinguished herself by bringing a Chef Hat Award to the former Hyde Park institution two years running, but aside from her undeniable talent, Emma will also bring her close connections to growers and suppliers.

She plans to make good used of the Central Market only a few blocks away, and continue her close relationship with friend and Murray Bridge grower, Kasim Erkoc, who CityMag profiled in 2016.

“He can grow radishes the size of my thumbnail, if that’s what we need,” Emma says.

Taking cues from her time working amongst the firs at the Adelaide Botanic Garden, Emma will also make good use of the Whitmore’s rooftop garden.

A draw for coming to Sparkke at the Whitmore, the chef says, was to be part of the inclusive and sustainably minded team.

“This is such a great space to create something special,” she says.

“There is nothing else like Sparkke at the Whitmore in Adelaide and I am truly excited to be a part of it.”

Sparkke at the Whitmore

Emma hopes to highlight the pub’s socially inclusive nature through a roster of guest chefs, collaborative dinners, and meet-the-maker style events scheduled to happen throughout her tenure at Sparkke at the Whitmore.

“Emma brings a track record of success as well as a food philosophy that fully aligns with Sparkke’s. We can’t wait to share her first menu – it’s a total celebration of everything we believe in on a plate,” Sparkke at the Whitmore’s co-founder Rose Kentish says.

Stay tuned to Sparkke at the Whitmore’s social pages for updates on Emma’s debut and future events led by the chef.