Originally from South Korea, Jung Eun Chae, formerly of Cutler & Co., launched CHAE in late 2019 from her apartment in Melbourne’s north. In 2021 the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival named her as a Legend and Trailblazer, and she won a Best New Talent Award from Gourmet Traveller. In 2022 Good Food recognised CHAE as one of five ‘Tastemakers’ and, in 2023, it achieved two hats from the Good Food Guide, making it the first Korean restaurant in Australia to receive such recognition. Her first book, Chae: Korean Slow Food for a Better Life, was published in 2024.