Kobe Jones Melbourne
Chef - Ben Rotella

With an Italian, Japanese and Australian background, Ben Rotella has a heritage as diverse and exciting as the Kobe Jones menu.  Ben’s childhood has many happy food memories, especially with his Italian and Japanese grandmothers. From a young age he was exposed to a diverse range of food, from making homemade pasta and sausages, to creating nori rolls.

At 17, Ben’s passion for food led him to undertake work as an apprentice chef, where he classically trained William Angliss and NMIT. He further developed his skills in hotels, restaurants and conference facilities around Melbourne, before moving to Waterfront Venues as a Sous Chef in 2007.  In 2008 Ben became Head Chef of Kobe Jones, before being promoted to the role of Executive Chef in 2009.

At Kobe Jones, Ben has used his extensive skills and experience to create a 'Japanese pan-asian menu' with dishes selected from some of the world's most exciting and diverse areas. With selections from the land, sea and air, one can drift through tantalising selections and choose to eat in traditional style or enjoy 'graze dining' where dishes are ordered as you go and shared.

As Ben learnt from an early age, food is a staple of life that should be easy to eat and always shared with friends and family. You can share the very same experience at Kobe Jones in superb surroundings with spectacular harbour views. Ben will continue to push the boundaries of Japanese cookery in his bid to fuse eastern and western cuisine. At Kobe Jones, you’ll enjoy Japanese like you've never had it before.