Scott Findlay: celebrity chef to Beyonce opens restaurant Flave in Bondi
He’s cooked for Beyonce, Elton and Rod Stewart and now this Gordon Ramsay trained chef has opened a vegan restaurant in Bondi with a menu bursting with his A listers’ favourite dishes.
Wentworth Courier
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If you’ve ever wanted to eat like a rock star, Bondi’s newest restaurant is the stuff of your plant-based dreams.
Celebrity chef Scott Findlay, who was trained by Gordon Ramsay and has worked for the likes of Beyonce, Elton John, Rod Stewart and Pink, is behind the menu of the newly opened Flave – and it’s crammed full of his famous clients’ favourites.
Mr Findlay began working on the concept for a vegan restaurant two years ago with couple Samantha and Stuart Cook (the former CEO of Zambrero) but after Covid struck they pivoted to an at home meal subscription service.
This week the doors at Flave’s Hall Street restaurant at Bondi Beach finally opened and they were inundated with diners clamouring to try the same meals savoured by A-listers.
One of the most popular dishes was the Italian inspired Ballsy Bowl which Mr Findlay developed especially for Sir Paul McCartney for who he worked as a personal chef for more than seven years.
“I actually designed this for Paul back in 2004 but the dish has evolved over the years,” Mr Findlay said.
“When I finished up with him, his wife Nancy asked for the recipe but they have gotten even better since then.”
Another of Sir Paul’s favourites on the menu is the “tuna” So Su Me bowl.
“The thing about Paul was he still liked the taste of meat and fish and cheese so we had to recreate it so it was like the real thing and also because his crew weren’t vegan,” Mr Findlay said.
“On the last tour I did with him, he asked for a sushi buffet for 300 people that was totally plant based so that’s when I first designed plant based tuna which is made out of tomato and tofu.
“I use seaweed stock to give it that fishy taste.”
Another menu item with famous origins is the Wadda Jerk bowl which boasts smoky Jamaican “chicken” on top of sweet potato gratin with a mango salsa.
“This was a dish I used to make for Rihanna back in the day. It was one of her favourite dishes from her hometown,” Mr Findlay said.
“I even went over to Barbados and learnt how to make a proper authentic marinade.”
Mr Findlay said the Flave menu, which is completely plant based and mostly gluten free, was so convincing many people had no idea they weren’t eating animal products.
He said while not all of his famous clients were vegans, many considered themselves flexitarian which meant they tried to incorporate as many plant based meals into their diet as possible.
And with international touring set to kick off again soon, he hopes to even see a famous face or two in the restaurant with both Rod Stewart and Pink previously visiting one of his other Australian eateries.
The Bondi restaurant is the first of six planned for Sydney with the concept eventually hoped to roll out worldwide.
Flave is open seven days for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Menu items range from $13.50 to $24.
Chef Scott’s 7 favourite celebrity stories
1. I was Tina Turner’s worst ever backup singer
Tina’s back-up singers were cheeky and decided, in the midst of a long tour, to try to ‘break’ her performance of the otherwise very serious song ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’.
One day they enlisted a fellow chef and myself to dress up in their bright red tour dresses and stand in their place.
Tina got the shock of her life seeing us blokes up there and, laughing uncontrollably, could barely make it through the song.
2. Paul McCartney, a private jet and a gun-toting taxi driver
It was the last day of Sir Paul McCartney’s 2011 tour in Moscow, and a fellow chef and I decided we had to see more of the city before we left.
Unfortunately, we were running a little late, but a man in a black limo materialised and offered us a ride back to the hotel. One hellraising ride later, where we clocked 160kms the entire way, we pulled up and he demanded 800 euros for the pleasure of driving us.
When we refused, he proceeded to lock the doors and pull a handgun out of his glove box compartment. Trapped inside a bullet-and-sound proof sedan with a gun pointing at us, we could see Sir Paul and the rest of the entourage about to pull away in the tour bus, en route to the private jet we were also meant to be on.
We had no choice but to cough up the 800 euros to secure our freedom. The driver released us with a chipper, “Have a nice day boys!”. Sometimes tours are burned into your memory for the wrong reason!
3. Paul’s Balls
Not all my memories of touring with Sir Paul McCartney are so high-octane as my Russian experience.
In 2004 I was on tour with Sir Paul in Rome and I took the opportunity to draw inspiration from the local cuisine to create something new. The plant-based ‘meatballs’ I whipped up and finessed over time became a favourite of Paul’s wife, Nancy – I was pretty chuffed when she asked for me the recipe so she could recreate at home – and, coincidentally, they made it on to the Flave menu and have become our bestseller.
4. Rod Stewart does not think I’m sexy
Rod was performing in my hometown, and he beckoned me on stage to strip down to my underpants. It was during a rendition of ‘Do you think I’m sexy’ and trust me, you don’t say no to Rod.
But I really hadn‘t thought through my outfit choice that day, and was rocking an ancient pair of superman jocks. And, unfortunately, there is video footage to prove it.
5. I know Beyonce’s favourite dish. And I’m not telling.
Working with Beyonce is everybody’s dream. She’s almost superhuman – except that she gets cravings just like the rest of us mere mortals …
She’d often sneak into the kitchen at odd hours and request her favourite secret dish, which to this day I’ve never divulged and I never will.
Naturally I was happy to whip it up for her every time, and relished the tips she gave me to make it just right for her. I must say, it’s quite nice having a clandestine culinary secret with one of the most famous women in the world!
6. I stole REM’s masseuse
Hanging with Michael Stipe (lead singer of REM) was always wild – from partying in ice bars in Helsinki to downing bottomless reds on penthouse rooftops in Dublin.
Michael and I even shared an on set personal masseuse – and on one occasion, our timing was off! Michael came off stage, desperate to unwind, but I was already on the table, face down. As I said, you get close to those you tour with!
7. Pink cooks a better Thanksgiving Dinner than I do
Maybe it’s why Aussies and Pink have just a symbiotic relationship – she’s super down-to-earth and super generous.
She’d throw fab crew parties where no expense was spared (one time, sumo-wrestlers were the entertainment!) and took no offence when myself and her lead guitarist and backup singers serenaded her with ‘Footloose’ (despite my seriously questionable vocals). She also cooked us Thanksgiving dinner. She’s just a legend of a human being.
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