Unlock the joy of travel
Chef Ian Oakes keeps it local at his Bondi-based Drake Eatery and it’s paying off by reducing waste and fuelling his other great passion: seeing the world.
One of the reasons Ian Oakes, owner of Drake Eatery in Sydney’s Bondi Beach, became a chef was because it’s a craft he could always travel with. For almost two decades, he followed his passion for produce around the world – from salmon fishing camps on the banks of Scotland’s River Deveron to sun-drenched Southern Italy and Michelin-starred restaurants in London. “Eating is a huge part of the travel experience for me. I love to see what the locals are using and how they cook with it.”
Oakes brought home “an old-school style of cooking” – think twice-baked cheddar soufflé and duck liver parfait made using centuriesold techniques – that puts the emphasis on seasonal ingredients and minimises waste. But sustainability is not just a buzzword for him.
Tapping into broader community attitudes in Bondi, being authentically eco helped Drake Eatery stand out from the crowd when it opened in 2015 and has kept it a firm local favourite since. “It has really helped the business because it makes us examine all of our practices. We look at everything from waste to what we’re buying and where we’re sourcing it. Most of our produce comes from NSW – even our liquor supplier is a local family-owned business – and the octopus on the menu at the moment is literally caught out the front,” says Oakes, nodding towards the iconic coastline. “You can’t get much more local than that.”
The chef works closely with just five produce suppliers, making small orders to minimise spoilage and outgoing costs. Maintaining these relationships is vital. “Having up to 51 days to pay for purchases4 on my American Express Qantas Business Rewards Card frees up cash flow for other things, like staff wages, so our suppliers know they’ll get their money on time.”
He also earns up to 1.25 Qantas Points per $1 spent2 on supplier payments made with his Card and he uses them on travel. “My wife, Alex, and I used Qantas Points we earned with our Card to get married in Puglia in 2019 and we applied a lot of inspiration from that trip to the menu when we got back.”