K-pop, Korean fried chicken and soju bombs – Rosella’s chef pop-up series Cooked is back
Mondays at Rosella’s aren’t what they used to be. What started as a bit of a wild idea – a chef-led series dubbed Cooked – has quickly turned into one of the most interesting things happening on the Gold Coast right now. The first instalment, a British takeover, went off in a way no one really anticipated. We’re talking record night, one keg of Guinness gone in three hours, and a packed-out bar on a Monday. So, naturally, round two was never going to be quiet.
On Monday April 20, Rosella’s new Monday-night series Cooked returns with a full K-pop takeover, led by Atto’s Yongsul Lee, also known as Stefano – a chef who’s built a loyal following for his take on contemporary Korean food. This time, expect things to get louder, a little chaotic (in a good way) and very, very tasty.
The menu has been designed to suit the setting – bar food, but done properly. We’re talking charred sugar snap and snow pea salad with a good glug of chilli oil and sesame mayo, a delightfully crisp prawn katsu sando loaded with fermented chilli mayo, and Korean fried chicken with your choice of spicy or soy garlic sauce. There’s also hibachi-grilled galbi short rib with ssam fixings, and for those lingering later into the night, yuck jeon – a Korean-style Wagyu beef pancake that’s a staple of festival eating.
For Stefano, the menu is a mix of crowd favourites and a chance to introduce something a little different. “This is our favourite… people love it,” he says of the dishes pulled from Atto’s repertoire, reworked here into a tighter, more snackable format. The idea is simple – bold flavours, a bit of smoke, a bit of spice, and food that makes sense with a drink in hand.
And speaking of drinks, Rosella’s is leaning all the way in. Expect soju to flow freely, alongside Yakult-spiked soju cocktails (yes, really) – a slightly creamy, citrusy situation built with grapefruit and Yakult that somehow just works. There’s also talk of soju bombs making an appearance, which, if you know, you know.
You might like
This iteration of Cooked isn’t just Korean food slapped onto a menu – it’s a full K-pop takeover, with a playlist curated for the night and plans to roll into karaoke as things loosen up. Because if you’re going to do it, you may as well go all in.
The bigger picture here is what makes Cooked worth paying attention to. The series isn’t just about one-off menus – it’s about giving chefs the space to do something different. “It’s that perfect storm of everything coming together,” says Rosella’s owner Jack, reflecting on the first event. It’s chefs cooking outside their usual lanes, bringing their own people, their own ideas and, occasionally, a bit of chaos.
And there’s plenty more to come. Upcoming instalments include a return of the British takeover (this time timed with King’s Birthday, naturally), a Mexican-Australian concept from former Alba Bar and Deli owner and MasterChef alum Jamie Fleming, and a produce-driven menu from a young Ballina-based chef.
But first, K-pop.
If the last one is anything to go by, you’ll want to get in early, bring a crew and maybe don’t plan an early Tuesday.
Want to see more stories from InDaily Qld in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily Qld as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily Qld". That's it.