Bondi Harvest chef Guy Turland returns to his roots at North Bondi cafe The Depot

After letting go of his Bondi Harvest empire, the local foodie legend is embracing letting go and focusing on sustainability for his community at The Depot cafe.

“At one stage in my life I had too many balls in the air,” says Bondi’s Guy Turland, a chef, cafe owner and founder of internationally recognised healthy lifestyle brand Bondi Harvest.

“I felt like I was executing Cs and Ds in everything because I didn’t have the capacity to focus on something that I was truly in love with,” he told the Wentworth Courier.

Since the recent decision to close operations of Bondi Harvest, which comprised cookbooks, a TV series, a YouTube recipe channel and a Bondi cafe, Mr Turland said he felt a powerful sense of clarity and joy about refocusing his time and energy into what he loves.

The lifestyle brand was put in control of Melbourne liquidators last week, yet another hospitality name to buckle under the ongoing pressures of the pandemic.

Mr Turland said his experience over the past two years reflects that of many others; he was forced to slow down and reflect on what was important to him. He said he did not see the end of the company – which led to a move to the US several years ago to grow the brand – as a failure but as a door to a new chapter.

The coolest guys in Bondi. L to R: John Kelly and Sam Smith from Porch and Parlour and Guy Turland. Picture: John Appleyard

“Saying no to things and closing goals, and stopping for a little bit is actually a real benefit and creates a lot of clarity,” Mr Turland said. “That’s definitely happened for me, and I feel a lot better for it.”

The voluntary liquidation of Bondi Harvest was the “responsible thing to do” after several difficult years. But it has allowed him to move on to “something that’s back in my local neighbourhood. It means I get to see regular faces, I’m travelling less and [I’m] healthier and happier.”

Guy Turland filming scenes for Bondi Harvest’s YouTube channel in Guy's Bondi Beach apartment. Picture: John Appleyard

The Bondi foodie legend has gone back to basics at the cafe that started it all, The Depot, which he opened with mum Heather in 2007. It has been the heart of the Bondi community thanks to the Turland clan of brother Clint and cousin John Kelly.

“It‘s kind of exciting. To be honest,” Mr Turland said of returning to his roots as chef and owner of the cafe that put him on the map.

Now he wants to show small businesses – including the notoriously wasteful hospitality industry – that building green credentials does not translate to another cost.

The Depot cafe, which reopened at 132 Warners Ave at Bondi Beach last November, was able to purchase 80 per cent of its equipment second-hand thanks to the move.

The Depot cafe has committed to sustainability across its operations.

“One of the main things that we wanted to do is to be as sustainable as possible. [The relocation] meant that we could build a space that housed that ethos for us,” Mr Turland said.

“We wanted to find ways to use as little plastic as possible.”

Green initiatives include introducing almond milk on tap – sourced from independent NSW family business Mandolé Orchard – which the team said has saved 16,000 bottles from plastic waste in the past year.

The cafe is also powered by green energy provider Powershop, “which is all recycled energy,” Mr Turland said.

“All of our coffee grinds are now going into mushroom blocks, and we’re growing our own edible mushrooms.”

Almond milk on-tap from Mandolé Orchard farm has hugely reduced plastic waste.

Mr Turland said he wants the cafe to be a template for other small businesses looking for greener alternatives.

“In the world we live in, there are so many creative solutions to problems, especially the plastic problem,” he said.

“I think, as business owners, you know, we have a responsibility to search out those solutions. Yeah, there might be a cost to it, but the long term [benefit] is actually far cheaper than the short term outlay.”

And as more customers demand transparency from operators, it’s important to the relationship a cafe has with the wider neighbourhood.

“We‘re in the cafe business, because we love people, we love those long term relationships,” Mr Turland said. “You can‘t just be a business operator and expect people to spend money with you. You have to really listen and, and be a part of the community for it to work.”