Celebrity chef reinvigorates Byron Bay with $10 million multi-venue culinary precinct

ACCLAIMED chef Shannon Bennett has unveiled plans for a landmark multi-venue offering on the site of the former Belongil Italian restaurant in Byron Bay.
Set to open mid-December, The Belongil will showcase four venues, each offering something different. Surfers can pick up a takeaway coffee at the Kiosk in the morning, friends can catch up over a leisurely brunch or long lunch at The Bistro, and those looking to indulge can treat themselves to a once-a-year fine dining experience at Feu.
It will also feature a members’ bar called Blind Tiger — a name inspired by the speakeasies that skirted Prohibition laws in 19th-century America — built around a 300-year-old Japanese temple that has been carefully relocated.

 

 

The undertaking is Bennett’s first hospitality precinct since the Far East Organization acquired the Vue Group, which included fine dining restaurant Vue de monde that he established in Melbourne, in 2020.
He partnered with fellow Belongil Beach resident, businessman and property investor Glen Norman — the son of the late Harvey Norman co-founder Ian Norman — investing more than $10 million in the venture.
“I really loved the old Belongil Italian and I feel that since they closed, Byron Bay has been missing something,” Bennett said. “I felt that I could bring the vigour back to my own little small community, right here with my neighbour Glen.⁠”
Bennett, who is also an entrepreneur and cookbook author who has appeared on TV shows such as MasterChef Australia, has enlisted long-time collaborators. They include sustainability-focused chef Cory Campbell — formerly of Noma in Copenhagen and Vue de monde — and sommelier Carlos Simoes Santos, who has worked at Gordon Ramsay’s three-Michelin-star restaurant and Heston Blumenthal’s Dinner in London.
Former Quay pastry chef Rewenka De Buhr has also joined the team, while Kavea Perreira, whose experience includes Merivale and Rockpool, will oversee guest relations and VIP services.

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Bennett said he and Norman have spent the past year travelling from southern Victoria to north Queensland meeting the farmers, fishermen, growers and makers behind Australia’s finest produce.⁠⁠“Every ingredient on our menu tells a story,” he said. “We’ve stood in the dirt, by the ocean, and in the sheds with the people who make it possible. We know them. We trust them. And we want you to taste that connection — all cooked over yellow box timber until it turns to charcoal.⁠”
Instead of wearing uniforms, the team has teamed up with fashion designer Song for the Mute, ensuring each member has a unique outfit that makes them feel confident and empowered. They will even get to keep their outfits when the season changes.
“This is a small but important thank you for being part of our team,” Bennett said.

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