Peter Kuruvita: Celebrity chef’s ritzy new restaurant in Noosa is set to close after investors pulled the plug with just 24 hours notice

A trendy restaurant run by a celebrity chef was given 24 hours to wrap up business after investors pulled the plug.

Alba by Kuruvita in Noosa Heads, Queensland, closed its doors for the final time on Saturday after chef Peter Kuruvita, 60, was told it would soon become a banquet hall.

During his tenure, Alba had earned praise from critics, won multiple awards and been named one of the state’s 100 best dining establishments.

Now Kuruvita is helping his laid-off staff find new jobs after abruptly informing them that the company was closing.

Alba housed an entire cooking area, including the restaurant, café, pizzeria, cooking school, shop and event venue, all of which are now closed.

Alba’s precinct included the restaurant, café, pizzeria, cooking school, shop and event venue, all of which were closed on Saturdays

Alba’s shareholders, led by Rod McCready of Altum Property Group, told the chef they were prepared to part ways after their two-year stint at Kuruvita ended.

‘They called me in, we created this beautiful place and the collaboration ended. The decision to close was not mine, it was theirs and I feel we have been successful in what we set out to do,” Kuruvita told the Courier Post.

Mr McCready said the sudden closure of the remote restaurant was the result of ‘ever-increasing regulatory and inflationary pressures’.

“We really enjoyed our time there working with staff and customers and made many lifelong friends and Alba is looking forward to its new, redesigned future,” he added.

The district will soon have a a full-time events company organizing weddings, parties and events, while still honoring existing event bookings.

Mr McCready’s Altum Property Group will reconsider the best way to use the site after these existing bookings are fulfilled.

Celebrity chef Peter Kuruvita has been looking for new jobs for his employees in recent days

Kuruvita said he will not open another restaurant and instead wants to become a tourism ambassador

Kuruvita has pledged to pay its employees and contractors their full dues and to reimburse anyone with vouchers and those who attended the cooking school.

The Sri Lankan-born chef made a name for himself as the presenter of several exotic cooking shows on TV and was once the face of Dilmah tea.

He will host a series pop-ups in Melbourne soon and will be involved in the Tasting Australia food festival in South Australia in May.

Kuruvita has said he has no plans to open another restaurant in place of Alba’s closure.

Instead, he plans to release his own curry line and possibly work with Sunshine Coast Tourism as an ambassador.