By Leigh O’Connor, Editor.
From Eleven Madison Park and Noma to Restaurant Botanic, Justin James’ career reads like a masterclass in fine dining, but his new venture is deeply personal.
Restaurant Aptos, nestled in a converted church in Stirling in the Adelaide Hills, is due to open later this year and Justin is eager for people to know this isn’t the next step – it’s the next big jump.
Speaking exclusively to AGFG, Justin lays bare his desire to challenge diners’ expectations without losing the sense of comfort and familiarity that keeps people coming back:
"Running a restaurant or even creating and founding a restaurant like I have done in the past is one thing, but to go all in on a very ambitious restaurant of your own is another level. This is my first restaurant. This is a Justin James' restaurant, not just a Justin James' experience.”
Hailed as one of Australia’s best, Restaurant Botanic was no stranger to pushing boundaries:
"Restaurant Botanic was a Justin James' experience, so that was me. I am not changing, but I won’t be doing anything I have done in the past. I have always had an organic, creative, but delicious mentality. The best way to keep diners coming back is by overdelivering in flavour, hospitality, and value.”
Known for dishes that feel like they are telling a story – intimate, thoughtful, almost poetic – Justin says every dish is created in a different way.
"It might be led by a certain ingredient, or it might be led by a technique. There isn’t one way to create a dish, that’s the beauty. Just like a story, you need an intro, middle and conclusion. Those steps are very important in a tasting menu as well.”
Justin says Aptos is not a traditional restaurant and will create a lot of emotions. Seating just 14 guests at a time, diners move over three floors, while being offered 16 courses of rare and unique Australian ingredients.
"It will be immersive from the menu to the building and the team. Even though the guests will be taken aback by the different floors and menu, the team will have the biggest impact and we want them to leave feeling in a state of bliss.”
Having worked in both New York and Australia, Justin has navigated vastly different culinary adventures and believes the world has a lot to learn from Down Under venues.
"Australian dining is exceptional. What the world could learn from us is the Australian café and that very high-level a la carte restaurant. What we could learn from the rest of the world is to embrace the tasting menu. We need a few more places that are pushing boundaries.”
In an era where food is increasingly seen through the lens of sustainability and provenance, we asked Justin how he balances innovation with responsibility and has his creativity ever felt stifled by the need to be conscious of the environmental impact:
"Creativity makes everything harder in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. I start small with impact and build some small wins. From there, when the confidence is flowing, I will tackle bigger objectives. To me, it's common sense – find the best produce as close as possible, use less plastic, find ways for less waste and so on. It’s not a fad or gimmick; it's just a way of living.”
Many Chefs talk about the pressure of perfection, yet Justin’s food seems to have a natural, almost effortless grace to it. Does he find creativity flows more easily when under pressure, or is it in the quieter moments that ideas truly crystallise?
"Pressure and deadlines have always given me the best results. If I have all the time in the world, I can’t decide because I think about everything. With pressure, I use my gut in decision making or the creative process and that is where I create my best ideas.”
Hindsight is a valuable commodity – we asked Justin if he could teleport his 16-year-old self into Aptos on opening night, what would he tell him about the future:
"I would tell him to trust the process! Don’t go to culinary school, instead get a business degree while working in the best kitchens. Travel more and save your money. Buy Apple stock. But who knows if I did that, would there be Aptos?”
