Stuart Krelle

Portrait of Stuart Krelle

Director, Luchetti Krelle

Juror

Stuart’s innate understanding of the hospitality industry was acutely honed during a lengthy tenure at university. Prior to graduating with First Class Honours in Interior Design at Sydney’s University of Technology (UTS), he completed a marketing course before pursuing a Bachelor of Business at UTS.

He confesses to spending much of this period wearing out the boards of numerous food and beverage establishments as both employee and patron between lectures. This ‘socialisation’ served his early career well. Whilst gainfully employed at a renowned Sydney interiors firm, he began moonlighting as a freelance designer devising the legendary Ruby Rabbit nightclub and exclusive DeNom lounge bar, which won the Best New Venue title at the 2006 Australian Bar Awards and Australian Liquor Industry Awards.

A chance encounter with Rachel Luchetti lead to them joining forces in 2008 to establish Luchetti Krelle which has in the span of 14 years become one of Australia’s leading hospitality design firms, bolstered by countless design awards (both national and global).

Stuart’s uniquely filtered vision has taken him offshore in recent years designing restaurants through to extensive hotel fit-outs, garnering accolades along the way. Notable recent projects include Longrain, Tokyo and the radical rejuvenation of the Art Deco Tattersall’s Hotel in NSW