Inside the edgy new Bondi restaurant run by Beyonce's personal chef - after the owner developed a love of vegan food following a 'freak' bacterial infection
- Australian Samantha Cook, 34, married husband Stuart on November 3, 2015
- The pair embarked on a year-long adventure honeymoon around the world
- While in Costa Rica Samantha enjoyed a street-side coconut to quench her thirst
- But it led her to develop a bacterial infection and major heart complications
- To get better doctors recommended a plant-based diet to heal the gut lining
- This prompted her to develop Flave, a plant-based restaurant in Bondi
- Celebrity chef Scott Findlay has helped develop the delicious menu items
An Australian woman who was struck down with a bacterial infection after drinking a coconut on her honeymoon and was told she needed to follow a plant-based diet to heal her gut has launched a wholefood restaurant in Bondi.
Samantha Cook, 34, wed husband Stuart on November 7, 2015, before the pair embarked on a year-long holiday together to celebrate, travelling through Europe and South America.
Midway through the exotic adventure the pair booked themselves into a health retreat in Costa Rica, enjoying time by the pool, yoga, boot camps and beach walks.
'It just so happened that on my way home from one of our workouts, I decided to get a fresh coconut from a street vendor to help cool me down,' Samantha told FEMAIL.
'This was the only thing I ate that day which was different from everyone else as we were all on the same plans. I remember thinking it tasted a little funky, but not enough to stop my thirst from being quenched. I didn't think anything of it thereafter until I ended up in hospital.'
Samantha Cook, 34, wed husband Stuart on November 7, 2015, before the pair embarked on a year-long holiday together to celebrate, travelling through Europe and South America
Midway through the exotic adventure the pair booked themselves into a health retreat in Costa Rica, enjoying time by the pool, yoga, boot camps and beach walks
The funky-tasting coconut was the likely cause of the infection she developed hours later, which required urgent medical care.
Samantha experienced secondary complications with the muscles around her heart as a result and she was kept under close watch by doctors at the Clinica Biblica Hospital in San Jose for seven days.
But while the infection subsided a week later the two powerful broad spectrum antibiotics given to her stripped away Samantha's delicate stomach microbiome, leaving her very sensitive to various foods.
The funky-tasting coconut was the likely cause of the infection she developed hours later, which required urgent medical care
Samantha experienced secondary complications with the muscles around her heart as a result and she was kept under close watch by doctors at the Clinica Biblica Hospital in San Jose for seven days
But while the infection subsided a week later the two powerful broad spectrum antibiotics given to her stripped away Samantha's delicate stomach microbiome, leaving her very sensitive to various foods
'The doctor recommended having a plant-based diet for the first month, then slowly re-introducing other food back into my diet by going vegetarian and so on from there,' she said.
'Animal products require the stomach to work a lot harder and this was not going to be helpful for my stomach given the recent trauma it had just undergone.'
A side effect of the new diet - which Stuart followed too - was having more energy, clear skin and no longer experiencing bouts of bloating, something the pair could get behind.
A side effect of the new diet - which Stuart followed too - was having more energy, clear skin and no longer experiencing bouts of bloating, something the pair could get behind
Flave allowed customers to order boxes of fresh meals to their door, all engineered to be flavourful wholefoods
'The idea for Flave was born out of frustration. We wanted great food that was good for the body and the planet,' she said of their resulting business venture.
'This is our legacy play - we're committed to our mission of bringing delicious plant-based food to billions.'
Flave was hoping to launch its plant-based restaurant before Covid but the pandemic forced it to pivot and instead create a vegan meal delivery service.
With lockdowns and restrictions easing the Flave restaurant will finally open its doors on December 7 with all of the meals developed by celebrity chef Scott Findlay, who was taught under the watchful guise of Gordon Ramsay and was Sir Paul McCartney's personal cook for seven years.
Scott has also worked with everyone from Beyonce to Elton John, Madonna and Pink.
They have been developed by celebrity chef Scott Findlay (pictured left), who was taught under the watchful guise of Gordon Ramsay and was Sir Paul McCartney's personal cook for seven years
'During this time of uncertainty, people wanted restaurant quality meals to eat in the comfort of their own home. So, we pivoted to meal subscription and ready made meals and here we are today,' she said
But from Tuesday customers can try everything from the Spicy American Cauli Burger to the Italian Not-Meatball Salad, in-person and in one of the busiest streets in Bondi Beach
'Flave was originally set up to be a fast-casual restaurant, consisting of burgers and bowls. We'd completed a number of brand workshops and fully developed an amazing menu - then the unexpected happened - a global health pandemic,' Samantha said.
'During this time of uncertainty, people wanted restaurant quality meals to eat in the comfort of their own home. So, we pivoted to meal subscription and ready made meals and here we are today.'
But from Tuesday customers can try everything from the Spicy American Cauli Burger to the Italian Not-Meatball Salad, in-person and in one of the busiest streets in Bondi Beach.
Customers can learn more about the Flave dishes on their website.
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