Jude Kereama Wife Jane: The Woman Behind Cornwall’s Most Beloved Chef

Last updated on April 22, 2026

Something more nuanced and human than either a tragedy or a success tale. Among them is the tale of Jane Kereama. She was married to Jude Kereama a chef from New Zealand who established two restaurants that won awards in a small Cornish fishing village had several appearances on the BBC’s Great British Menu and received a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the process.

It would be completely missing the mark to minimize Jane to a footnote in her husband’s career. According to everything that has been mentioned about her including from Jude the community and the crew who worked with her on the food festival she was more of the reason that anything happened at all than a supporting figure.

In the mid 1990s Jude Kereama traveled from New Zealand to the UK with no intention of staying. He was trained under Simon Gault while working in London navigating the kitchens of upscale restaurants with the restless energy that characterizes young chefs who are still discovering their identity. Then one evening he went to an Italian restaurant in Fulham with a friend. Jane was also present.

He has given several accounts of the incident but the one that sticks in your memory is the straightforward one he saw her go around the restaurant all night leading her wait staff with authority and warmth and he knew right away. I knew from that moment she was the one for me he replied. It’s the kind of thing that seems like a line until you find out how it ended at which point it seems like the most accurate statement ever.

Before starting to consider starting their own business the pair lived in London for years. Before someone brought up Porthleven they considered a location on Widemouth Bay and looked at Padstow which ironically lost out to a then unknown Paul Ainsworth. Jude was unaware of it. Both of them fell in love when they went there in the dead of winter with rain pounding the harbor.

They reasoned that they would love the site in the summer if they could feel that strongly about it under those circumstances. They were correct. Named after the Maori term for clam Kota opened its doors in 2006 and Kota Kai followed in 2011. As the operational core of the company and Jude’s partner Jane was there for it all.

Jude has been very forthright about this. Jane is the driving force brains and charm of their eateries according to him. It wasn’t the kind of spousal homage you give at an awards ceremony nor was it a subtle diversion. It was obvious that he meant it. Jane had experience in the hospitality industry; when they first met she was managing an Italian restaurant in Fulham. She contributed a sincere sense of professionalism to whatever they created together. Jane encouraged Jude to try out for Great British Menu when he was hesitant to do so. She was aware of the impact the exposure would have on their company. In that regard she was also correct.

When you go back and review everything that was stated about Jane Kereama following her death in May 2019 you’ll notice how frequently the same words are used. Bubbly giving and kind. I have nothing negative to say about anyone. Naturally these are the things people say at funerals but when you hear them from a whole community instead of just a few family members they have a different meaning.

Alongside Jude Jane had contributed to the founding of the Porthleven Food Festival and she had been in charge of the Chefs’ Theatre each year since its inception. The festival team’s description of losing her sparkly personality and can do attitude implied that something structural rather than merely ornamental had been taken away.

At the age of 46 she passed away quietly at St. Julia’s Hospice in Hayle leaving Jude and their twelve year old son Joe behind. Jude said how in the days following her passing the house was filled with cards and flowers and neighbors would knock on the door with food. The house was like a florist he remarked.

A chef’s home which had probably always been filled with the aroma of cooking and the rhythm of a busy family life was abruptly transformed by grief and the community’s urge to feed the people it loves. There’s something subtly tragic about that image. There is a certain weight to Jude’s description of their marriage.

Eighteen of their twenty three years together were spent as husband and wife. We saw each other every waking moment and never argued he said to a reporter. He claimed to have told Jane on their anniversary that considering how inseparable they were they ought to be commemorating thirty six years. That level of intimacy doesn’t go away quietly.

Since her passing Jude has been open about how he has dealt with her absence. He has raised Joe mostly by himself taken time off from night shifts to be with his kid and found ways to move on without pretending the loss wasn’t heartbreaking.

He has also talked of going back to Great British Menu following Jane’s passing characterizing himself as quite vulnerable at the time. He claimed to have done it for Jane. Returning to that kitchen was a chance for her to honor something she had started since there were times when she had believed in him more than he had in himself. It is impossible to witness such dedication without feeling the weight of the expense.

Jane the wife of Jude Kereama was not as well known as her husband. She doesn’t have a solo profile in a national newspaper or an appearance on the BBC with her name in the title. However Porthleven a small community with a few thousand residents on Cornwall’s southwest tip is fully aware of her significance to the area. She contributed to its inclusion on the gastronomic map. She planned offered to help and showed up. Furthermore Jude has stated unequivocally that the tale of Kota and Kota Kai would be a different inferior tale without her.

At Kota Kai a memorial to her will be built on the grass with a view of the harbor. According to Jude it was exactly the kind of celebration that Jane would have desired a large gathering people exchanging tales and the neighborhood coming together to honor a woman who had always brought people together. It’s the correct instinct. Accolades are how some people earn their legacy. Jane Kereama earned hers by being there and by showing a certain kind of unconditional love.