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Flave: New Restaurant With Plant-Based Menu By Celebrity Chef

Bondi has just scored a new diner. ‘Flave’ features a plant-based menu created by Executive Chef Scott Findlay, a Gordon Ramsay-trained chef who has also cooked for celebrities like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna, and Sir Elton John.

Former meat-lovers, Stuart & Samantha Cook hatched the idea for a 100% plant-based eatery after Samantha had a life-threatening bacterial infection while on vacation in Costa Rica. Upon doctor’s advice, she switched to a plant-based diet which her husband supported by staying away from meat products too.

Whilst they were getting used to plant-based eating, they also realised that vegetarian options are hard to find. And so, Flave was born with a mission to serve flavourful fare including burgers and bowls that even the hardcore meat eaters wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

Behind the stellar Flave menu is Gordon Ramsay-trained Executive Chef Scott Findlay who was a private chef to several flexitarian celebrities including Rihanna, Beyoncé, Madonna and Sir Elton John. But he admits that his years of experience with Sir Paul McCartney, who is a vegetarian and founder of the Meat Free Mondays movement, had the most influence on his creations.

Flave founders, Stuart and Samantha Cook / Executive chef, Scott Findlay
Photo Credit: Flave / flave.com

Take Ballsy Burger/Bowl for example, which drew inspiration from his recipe created to please McCartney’s taste buds. These Italian meatballs, slow-cooked in Napoli sauce, come with cheesy eggplant parmigiana, fresh pesto and rocket.

The Japanese-style So Su Me is also another McCartney-inspired recipe. The tuna tartare’s burger version is served in a toasted charcoal bun stacked with crispy sushi rice nori and sesame edamame patty, seaweed salad, pickled ginger, avo, red cabbage slaw & wasabi aioli.

The So Su Me Bowl option, on the other hand, comes with baby spinach, quinoa and rice, carrot and cucumber ribbons, pickled ginger, edamame and avocado. Balancing the tangy and spicy goodness are sesame seaweed salad, togarashi, Miso Ponzu dressing; wasabi aioli, crispy shallots and tempura nori for crunch.

Curious as to what Rihanna’s food preference is like? Then Wadda Jerk is for you. This recipe is based on Riri’s favourite dish from Barbados. Wadda Jerk is a spicy Jamaican Jerk chicken recipe in coconut-sweet potato gratin, complemented with cool mango salsa, coconut rice and beans along with Jamaican greens.

Flave fries | Photo Credit: Flave / Facebook

Sides menu includes light & crispy sweet potato fries with the perfect amount of crunch, lightly fried strands of ‘tato, and crispy golden onion ring-a-ding-dings fried in a spicy southern American batter.

Tasty desserts, coffee, tea and a slew of wines and beer options are also on offer.

Flave occupies the former St.George Bank site at 89 Hall Street in Bondi Beach. Hours of operation are Monday – Wednesday and Sunday from 11 am to 10 pm; Thursday -Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm.

Flave | 89 Hall St, Bondi Beach NSW 2026, Australia

Bondi’s Historic Boot Factory Gets New Lease on Life

Photo credit: NJ Electrical Services / Facebook

Restoration and upgrade to turn the 19th-century, heritage-listed Boot Factory building at the heart of Bondi Junction into a ‘civic innovation hub’ are well underway.

Restoring the historic building for innovative future uses

Council started the restoration project last April 2021, working with architectural firm Archer Office for the updated design of the three-storey building at 27-33 Spring Street.

Coinciding with the Boot Factory’s restoration is the refurbishment of the adjacent Mill Hill Community Centre. Both facilities will then be connected, providing shared access to lift and amenities.

“The Boot Factory and Bondi Pavilion are such important buildings in the history of Waverley and our restoration of both will ensure they are preserved for future generations,” Mayor Masselos said.

Executing the project is Lloyd Group, whose initial restoration works on the Boot Factory will include roof, masonry perimeter walls, installation of new floors, and a complete interior fit-out.

Restoration works will then move on to connecting the Boot Factory and Mill Hill Centre and enhancing the courtyard at Norman Place.

Artist impression of the Norman Lee Place upgrade and Civic Innovation Hub | Photo credit: ARCHER OFFICE / archeroffice.com

The expected outcome of the restoration project include:

Flexible community spaces on the ground floor and top floor of the Boot Factory and the Mill Hill Community Centre
Upgraded Community and Seniors Centre
A new café at the Spring Street entry to the precinct with street and courtyard presence
Council will also beautify the courtyard in Norman Lee Place

The Boot Factory in retrospect

Built by William Sidaway and Son in 1892, the Boot Factory began footwear production soon after its completion, until it was acquired by Mr Fred Cull in 1893. In partnership with Mr Thomas Bardon, George Cull and his sons continued the footwear manufacturing business at the factory.

Mr Bardon took over the business as its sole proprietor sometime between 1920 and 1921. After his death in 1938, the business was passed on to his son Thomas Charles Bardon.

Boot Factory exterior | Photo credit: Waverley Council – Waverley Library Local Studies / waverley.nsw.gov.au

Boot Factory circa 1911 | Photo credit: Waverley Council – Waverley Library Local Studies / waverley.nsw.gov.au

After World War I, the Bardon Boot Factory became a recognised producer of fashion footwear for women that were distributed to well-known shoe stores at the time including David Jones and Taylor Shoe Store. The Caddy family was the last family to run and manage the Boot Factory until it closed in 1969.

Boot Factory 1934 & 1984 — Boot_Factory 1934 & 1984 | Photo credit: Waverley Council – Waverley Library Local Studies / waverley.nsw.gov.au

The building was acquired by Waverley Municipal Council in 1984 and then underwent restoration in 1986. In May 2013, Council voted to have the building demolished after finding it structurally unsound but an independent report said otherwise. And so remedial structural works were completed that same year to ensure it stays stable until Council finds an alternative use for it.

In 2019, the Council lodged an application to transform the old building into an “innovative community space” and was given the green light by the Sydney Eastern City Planning Panel in May 2020.

The Boot Factory is listed as a local heritage item in the Waverley Local Environmental Plan and classified by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).

Now Open! FSH MKT for Takeaway Meals in Bondi from the Fishbowl Group

Did you know that there’s a new corner store along the Sevenways precinct on Glenayr Avenue in Bondi? Sydney’s popular Fishbowl Group has opened the FSH MKT next to the FISH SHOP and it will focus on an ideal concept in the new normal — takeaway meals!

Owners Nic Pestalozzi, Nathan Dalah and Casper Ettelson launched FSH MKT in mid-October 2021 following six months of planning with Executive Chef Joel Bennetts in the kitchen. The group came up with a delectable menu based on sustainably caught seafood supplies alongside rotating choices of vegetables and condiments like chilli jams or tartar sauce.

FSH MKT specials will depend on market availability to keep the menu exciting but there will always be classic favourites like fish and chips or fish burgers. Customers will also get to create their own picnic seafood orders to take during visits to the beach or park this summer.

The Fishbowl Group knew that there was a need for quick and satisfying takeaway meals after FISH SHOP offered this service during the lockdowns. However, because the restaurant’s concept made the waiting time longer for the customers, the trio decided to establish FSH MKT for grab-and-go meals. According to Dalah, FSH MKT is a reinvention of traditional fish’n’chip shops.

Meanwhile, the Fishbowl group is gearing up for more store openings, including pop-ups, in Sydney in 2022. There will be at least 13 new outlets for all of its concept stores.

Follow their Instagram page for more updates, new menu, and trading schedule.

Martin Stark: This Boxer Champions Inclusivity

For inclusivity advocate Martin Stark, boxing isn’t just a man’s sport — it’s for everyone, including the LGBTIQ+ community. That is why Martin, who’s currently training at the Fit Fighters Club in Bondi Junction, will be participating in the World Gay Boxing Championships.

Read: New Tamarama Memorial Honours LGBTQ Hate Victims

The World Gay Boxing Championships is a not-for-profit organisation where all boxing fans come together for one goal, and that is to showcase boxing as welcoming to all genders and sexualities.

Board of World Gay Boxing Championships (Photo credit: Martin Stark/Instagram)

One of the reasons he started WGBC is to fight homophobia in sport. A research by Out on The Fields revealed 80% of people in Australia have either witnessed or experienced homophobia in sport, with 75% believing that an openly gay person would not be safe as a spectator at a sporting event.

Martin’s journey with boxing started in 2018 following a near-death experience in 2017. He suffered from multiple health scares, including pancreatitis, collapsed lungs, a tracheostomy, and two induced comas as a result of his Addison’s disease.

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A post shared by Martin Stark (@gayboxingchamp)

As a way of combating post-traumatic stress disorder, he went on to try self-defence classes which included boxing. He recalled seeing boxing as a “barbaric” sport but he now credits it for helping him recover both mentally and physically.

Now, Martin is getting ready for the world’s first LGBTQI+ boxing tournament, which will be held at the Randwick Racecourse in February 2023. At present, there are already more than 70 competitors who expressed their interest in joining the event. The event will be gender inclusive, with trans, non-binary, and intersex boxers of all levels welcome to compete.

Coinciding with the Sydney World Pride in early 2023, Martin expects the tournament will be as colourful, as flamboyant, and as glittery as the Mardi Gras.

Martin simply loves boxing and wanted to give back to the sport and LGBTQ community by providing an opportunity for people to participate and compete in a safe and friendly environment.

New Tamarama Memorial Honours LGBTQ Hate Victims

Photo credit: www.bondimemorial.com.au

As a way of honouring the lives lost and survivors of LGBTQ hate and violence in Sydney and broader NSW, health organisation ACON has unveiled ‘The Bondi Memorial: Rise’ in Marks Park, Tamarama.

Read: Bondi Beach Primary School Rebuilds After Fire Damage

A collaborative project with Waverley Council, Acon aims to address the ongoing impacts of hate and violence on LGBTQ communities through a memorial. Rise, the work of artist John Nicholson from Urban Art Projects, was the winning design out of all six shortlisted designs for the memorial.

The Bondi Memorial is located on the southwestern side of Marks Park, which is accessible via Marks Lane on the eastern side of Fletcher Street or via Bondi to Bronte coastal walk. The park has been chosen as the location of the memorial given its place in history as the site of numerous attacks.

Rise is a series of stone terraces that replicates the exact topography of the rock face strata of the cliffs below Marks Park, where a number of gay men were assaulted and thrown from to their deaths.

“The artwork is called ‘Rise’ as I want the community to continue to rise about all the terrible histories that have taken place. It’s important to remember the past so the worst of it is never repeated,” said Nicholson.

Nicholson drew on the juxtaposition of the harshness of the cliff face and the brutality of what happened to the victims contrasting with the beauty of this pristine area of the Sydney coastline.

A Dark Chapter in History

From the late 1970s through to the early 1990s, more than 80 gay men and transgender women disappeared, were assaulted or murdered in NSW, many at coastal parks in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

“With this memorial, we hope to help heal the grief and trauma that continues to be felt today. And with many cases still unsolved, this memorial also serves to raise greater community awareness of the issue of LGBTQ hate crimes, promote the continuing need to pursue the truth and justice, and serve as a reminder of the importance of valuing and celebrating diversity in our community,” Bondi Memorial noted on the website.

About ACON

ACON is a New South Wales-based health promotion organisation specialising in HIV prevention, HIV support and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) health. The organisation is primarily funded by the NSW Government through the NSW Ministry of Health.

Temporary Bondi Bus Diversions to Last for 11 Weeks

Due to the construction and development of the Bondi Junction Cycleway and Oxford Street’s Streetscape Project, bus diversions from Bondi Road and Old South Head Road will impact commuters for at least 11 weeks beginning 13 Sept 2021.

Waverley Council announced that the affected bus routes are 333, 380, 381, 326, 327, 386, 387, and 379. The bus diversion routes were chosen based on traffic support and pedestrian safety whilst ensuring that the road network remains reliable.

Take note of these reroutes:

AFFECTED BUSES	STANDARD ROUTE	BUS DIVERSIONS
333, 380 and 381	Bondi Road towards Bondi Junction Interchange	Adelaide Street and Grafton Street, 24/7
326, 327, 386, 387 and 379	From Old South Head Road towards the Interchange	Edgecliff Road between Kendall Street and Grosvenor Street from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Adelaide Street and Grafton Street from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.

Signages around Bondi have been placed to direct the public to alternative bus stops. Commuters may also head to the taxi rank at the corner of Grosvenor Street and Oxford Street as it will remain open during the work on the cycleway and streetscape.

The Bondi Junction Cycleway is part of the State and Federal Government’s $240 million investment to improve the green spaces and public areas in Waverley Council.

Once completed, the cycleway and streetscape will include:

improved safety with new signalised crossings
50 new trees
new street lights
street furniture
garden beds
new roads, paving and footpaths
the installation of a bi-directional cycleway

Bondi Beach Primary School Rebuilds After Fire Damage

A devastating fire temporarily shut down Bondi Beach Primary School in June 2021 but in a short span of time, the school has been rebuilt with new classrooms to boot!

Minister for Education Sarah Mitchell is pleased with the outcome delivered by 40 workers and tradies who were on top of the project to restore the primary school in under six weeks.

Most of the school’s top floor had fire damage, destroying at least four classrooms and the adjacent storerooms. Restorations were also completed on the roof and floor coverings, as well as the electrical wirings.

“After the devastating fire last month at Bondi Beach Public School I am so pleased to see that it has been restored to the highest standards,” Member for Vaucluse Gabrielle Upton said.

“I want to thank both the local Bondi Beach and Bellevue Hill Public School communities, who pulled together to support the school during this difficult time.”

The school community is looking forward to returning to in-person classes at the restored classrooms once the lockdown in Sydney has been lifted. The students are currently under the Learning from Home Hub program.

Photo Credit: OMG Decadent Donuts East Sydney/Facebook

Panic gripped the parents of 71 children when the fire broke out at the top floor of the Bondi Beach Primary School. The kids, along with seven staff members, were still around for the after-hours childcare service at The Hive.

Fortunately, no one was hurt as the children were evacuated quickly as the firies arrived to contain the fire.

“In NSW, coroners have jurisdiction to investigate fires and explosions. As such the Bondi Beach PS fire is now with the coroner. The community will be provided with updates when information is made available,” Principal Gai O’Neill advised parents in the school’s newsletter.

A Fun Way to Survive the Lockdown? Do Pottery at Home!

If there’s an upside to the lockdown, it’s having more time to learn a new skill and indulge in fun activities like making pottery. Fortunately for Eastern Suburb and Greater Sydney locals, Bondi Clay has released new and special pottery kits that anyone can do at home.

The ceramics store and workshop studio, located on Flood Street, re-launched ClayKits, which includes eight pottery tools, a bag of clay (6kg), and an instructional piece of paper. The shop will deliver the Claykits for an additional rate.

Highlights

Bondi Clay relaunches Claykits for making pottery at home.
The studio has uploaded online instructional videos for these Claykits
They also conduct live classes on Instagram during this lockdown.

Now, it’s no fun for other people to read instructions from a piece of paper so Bondi Clay has prepared a video guide. The store has uploaded a library of online tutorials where Sydneysiders can actually see how easy it is to make a vase, a pot, decorative bowl. Just take your pick and start getting creative!

In addition to the online tutorials, Bondi Clay has live classes on Instagram, which will be conducted only because it’s the lockdown.

When the lockdown is over soon, Bondi Clay will start offer bisque firing services. The first kilo of bisque is on the house!

Here are the rates for the Claykits and other pottery essentials.

PRODUCT/SERVICE	COST
Claykits	$59 (tool set included)
Bisque firing	$10 per kilo (free for first kilo)
White studio glaze	$30 per kilo (with bisque firing)
Tool Set	$30.00 (no delivery, collection only)
Stonewar Clay – 12.5kg bag	$39.00 (no delivery, collection only)

Making pottery is one of the oldest art forms in the world and it’s therapeutic because the process needs a lot of focus and care as one works with their hands. Putting all that focus into a creative activity means shutting and switching off from distractions whilst moulding and making beautiful ceramics. It seems only fitting to switch off from the outside world during the lockdown to reduce anxiety and stress.

Don’t worry about making a perfect bowl or vase as pottery is all about experimenting with art, unlocking creativity, and learning something new during the lockdown.

Meanwhile, when the situation normalises in Sydney, visit Bondi Clay or sign up for actual pottery classes. The studio has around eight pottery wheels (automatic, electric kilns, and heaps of dipping paint. Spacious building tables are set up for creatives to work.

Some of the classes run for two hours whilst there are also long-term sessions that cover at least six weeks. The establishment is also an events place for birthdays, corporate events, or hens parties. Visit the official site for more details.

Volleyball Faces Potential Ban After Complaints in Bondi Beach

Did you know that volleyball might become restricted, or even outright banned across some of Sydney’s most prominent beaches such as Bondi and Tamarama?

Informal games of beach volleyball are currently under review by the Waverley Council after a series of complaints concerning the classic beachside sport.

In most cases, beachgoers would establish informal games by bringing their own balls and equipment. Players must follow an established set of rules imposed by the council, and these rules permit up to three nets and ongoing volleyball games in Bondi beach at any given time.

However, there has been a recent wave of opposition against the sport, spearheaded by a 64-year-old Tamarama resident who has opted to remain anonymous, who claimed that accidents would be inevitable with games such as these.

The leader of the opposition has mentioned their fears that children would end up getting injured over stray balls, and that players were using crown land without paying. They had also stated that balls would go as far as 30 feet if out of control, veering off course and posing a risk to passersby.

Photo credit: CC BY-SA/Dietmar Rabich/Wikimedia Commons

Despite this, there are claims that the opposition is minimal at best, however the Waverley Council has still opted to consult the community on how they should handle the issue at hand. Volleyball is still a beloved beachside activity, and one of the options proposed by the council is changing the maximum number of courts, or modifying the rules to promote safety.

The council will hold consultation until the 17th of May, after which they will evaluate the feedback given and possibly conduct further investigation on the sport and any threats it might pose to other beachgoers and locals.
Those interested in sharing their thoughts and providing their input on the matter are free to do so via the Waverley Council’s new survey.

Bondi Beach Apartment Breaks Record for Most Expensive Unit Auctioned in Australia

A penthouse apartment with a gorgeous view of Bondi Beach became the most expensive unit to ever be sold at an auction in Australia.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom unit on Notts Avenue used to be owned by James Mayo, a former world champion yachtsman who also owns Mayo Hardware. He’s moving to an oceanfront mansion in Point Piper so he’s selling the Bondi pad he has owned for a decade.

Mr Mayo bought the unit for less than $10 million ten years ago and did a few renovations in 2020 before putting it up in the market. It was valued at $14 to $15 million but had a reserve price of $17 million as it went under the hammer.

At the auction held in mid-March, some 65 bidders showed interest despite its reserve price. Whilst some investors might consider Sydney properties as overpriced, this home is worth every penny with its stunning panoramic view of the beach and the Bondi Icebergs, as well as the apartment’s breezy and indoor/outdoor flow.

Aside from the open-plan living and dining room areas, the apartment also features a media room, oversized terraces for al fresco dining, a deck, and a gourmet marble kitchen.

According to Domain, this property had the “best position and the best aspect of Bondi.” The apartment’s final bid was at $20.1 million and was snatched up by a local.