OUR STORY
Kirby Shearing is a chef who grew up in the Adelaide Hills, worked the pans all over the world, and found his home on Bunganditj Country in the south-east corner of the Limestone Coast.
ACCOLADES
2025 GOOD FOOD GUIDE HAT
2025 TOP 100 FOOD EXPERIENCES IN AUSTRALIA (DELICIOUS.MAGAZINE)
TOP 10 SOUTH AUSTRALIAN RESTAURANTS (GOURMET TRAVELLER)
PRESS
As the Owner and Executive Chef of Elementary by Kirby Shearing, Kirby sources, cooks, and plates every dish largely alone – no big brigade, no fixed menu – guided by an intimate knowledge of the region's producers, growers, and seasonal rhythms.
Since opening in 2023, Elementary by Kirby Shearing has emerged as one of Australia's most celebrated regional restaurants, while Kirby is a leading voice for regional dining and the Limestone Coast.
Growing up in the Adelaide Hills, Kirby began his culinary career at the celebrated Windy Point Restaurant at just 15, before going on to work in Michelin-starred and hatted restaurants across Australia and the world.
In 2008, he returned to South Australia to launch The Tasting Room at Mayura Station on the Limestone Coast, overseeing the celebrated farm's restaurant for three years. He fell in love with the region and settled in Mount Gambier.
Elementary is the only restaurant in Mt Gambier to ever hold a Good Food Guide Hat and is the highest ranked Hatted restaurant in the Limestone Coast (2025). It appears in delicious. magazine's Top 100 Food Experiences in Australia (2025), and was ranked #2 in Gourmet Traveller's Top 10 South Australian Restaurants (2024). A passionate advocate for local producers, sustainable practice, and mentoring the next generation of chefs, Kirby has built something quietly extraordinary with Elementary, and the rest of Australia is beginning to notice.