HIGH-end dining in Adelaide has suffered another blow, with acclaimed restaurant Celsius shutting its doors for the last time on the weekend.

Since opening in Gouger St in 2010, Celsius had won a string of positive reviews and accolades including a Chef of the Year award for Ayhan Erkoc, who owned the business with his brother Kasim.

The chef’s wider family was also involved, with their market garden near Murray Bridge the source of the tiny vegetables, flowers and leaves that gave his plates a distinct, natural beauty.

Celsius was rated among the top six restaurants in the current Advertiser Food Guide, with three stars and praise for the chef’s “instinctive gift for contriving dishes that harmonise a full orchestral movement of flavours”.

The last service at Celsius was on Saturday night and the business went into liquidation on Monday.

Liquidator Robert Naudi, from Meertens Chartered Accountants, said that while he didn’t yet have the full business accounts, the debt was relatively small, probably less than $50,000, including rent owed to the landlord.

Ayhan Erkoc confirmed the restaurant had closed but did not want to comment further.

Adelaide’s restaurant scene has seen a succession of high profile restaurants shutting over the past two-and-a-half years, including Vincenzo’s Cucina Vera, Urban Bistro and, most recently, Auge.

Last month The Daniel O’Connell Hotel, which had won national plaudits for its ambitious, offal-driven cooking, changed hands and went in a new direction minus highly rated chef Phil Whitmarsh.

At the same time, the competition has grown tougher with new ventures in and around the city including Orana, Hill of Grace, 2KW, Sean’s Kitchen, Olea and Africola all vying for diners.

Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive Sally Neville said business was tough at the top end with increased competition and costs.

“The numbers of people in that market hasn’t grown and there is no more corporate spread,” she said. “When new places open up, people doing the same things that haven’t reinvented themselves are likely to fail.

“It’s a challenging market at the best of times especially when you are pushing boundaries. It’s a shame because if we don’t support these businesses we will lose them.”

Whitmarsh paid tribute to his fellow chef.

“It’s a shame to see Ayhan close,” he said.

“It was one of my favourite restaurants in town. I loved his no-fuss approach to food ... there were three or flavours on the plate and that was enough to make it sing.

“The whole fine dining and doing a four or five-hour degustation has gone out the window for a more casual approach.

“People go out, share an entree, get a main course and share a dessert. Life is more hectic.”

ANALYSIS

FANTASTIC FOOD LET DOWN BY LOCATION

By Simon Wilkinson

HOW you view the health of Adelaide’s restaurant industry depends on two very different viewpoints.

If you are slaving in the kitchen, or trying to balance the books (or, as is often the case, doing both), times have never been tougher, with costs, competition and a fickle public all conspiring against a decent profit.

On the other hand, if you are heading out for a meal in town or country, the choice of well-run venues offering a good level of food and service has never been wider.

These opposing forces come to a real crunch at the top end of the market.

The problem for Celsius was the finite number of people prepared to invest the dollars and the hours necessary to experience elite-level dining. In these circumstances, any flaw was exposed.

As his awards and the restaurant’s continued high ranking show, Ayhan Erkoc was among the state’s most creative, most committed chefs.

Every visit was rewarded with memorable dishes such as blue swimmer crab with a corn custard, lamb sweetbreads with cauliflower puree and ice-cream made with sorrel from the family farm.

In the end however, the location Ayhan chose, a dark and hard-edge former nightclub in Gouger St, was too big a hurdle to overcome. With other choices appearing, diners increasingly looked elsewhere.

Yes, it’s competition, but when Adelaide loses someone of this rare talent, it’s a heavy price to pay.