Celebrity chef Rick Stein denies being involved in negotiations to ‘buy’ Oaks Hotel for $175m

Celebrity chef Rick Stein has moved to hose down rumours he was involved in buying The Oaks hotel on Sydney’s north shore. Picture: Supplied

One of the world’s best known chefs has denied rumours he was involved in negotiations to buy one of Australia’s best-loved pubs – The Oaks in Neutral Bay.

Celebrity chef Rick Stein was rumoured to be the mystery buyer of The Oaks in Neutral Bay paying close to $175m for the famous hotel with the help of a consortium of business partners.

The 76-year-old chef, restaurateur and popular television presenter splits his time between the UK and Australia but he was in Sydney over the summer around the time of the February sale.

The real estate industry was ablaze with rumours on Thursday, the highly respected Stein was part of with a consortium of business partners who were the new owners.

Rick Stein is one of England’s best-known chefs, a restaurateur, and a popular television presenter.

He divides his time between Cornwall in the UK and Australia, married his Australian wife Sarah in 2011 and the couple share a home in Neutral Bay.

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Highly-respected chef Rick Stein. Source: Supplied

The Oaks pub is one of Sydney’s most celebrated drinking holes.

He launched Bannisters by the Sea in Mollymook in 2009 and then opened Bannisters in Port Stephens in 2018, both with extensive seafood menus.

Stein’s speciality is seafood.

However, the 76-year-old foodie, who also owns a home in Mollymook on the south coast, hosed down the rumours on Monday.

A spokeswoman for Bannisters advised: “I can 100 per cent confirm that neither Rick Stein nor [his business partner] Peter Cosgrove have bought The Oaks or have been involved in any negotiations to buy it.”

“At the moment, they’re not looking to purchase anything else – their focus is on their current portfolio of Bannisters at Mollymook and Port Stephens and Jacksons Ranch, their newest venue which has a weddings focus, at Bawley Point.”

The spokeswoman said Stein and Cosgrove [not the former Governor-general of Australia] were bemused as to how the rumour could have started.

“There’ve been rumours in the past like this about them expanding or buying something really big like this, but they’re completely unsubstantiated,” she said.

There is no denying Stein’s love of Australia, Sydney and the city’s north.

The Oaks Hotel’s famous beer garden.

The hotel has changed hands for the first time this century.

Rick’s Twitter account shows him on Balmoral Beach on February 4 revelling in the delights of summer in Sydney and drawing inspiration from iconic Aussie fictional character Les Norton.

“I was just thinking on Balmoral Beach how really special summer is in Sydney,” he wrote.

“The sky and sea are bluer than anywhere and white boats zipping everywhere.

“Do you know, I wouldn’t be dead for quids!”

Snippets of information that JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group had given out earlier included that the landmark hotel on Military Rd sold to a local family and long-time patrons of the pub.

There have also been reports the buyers are connected to the film industry.

The revered pub was listed in August last year with hopes of a $175m price tag.

Those details puzzled people, as locals wondered who drinking at the Taffys Sports Bar alongside them had that sort of money.

JLL managing director John Musca wouldn’t comment on the new owner, saying he was bound by nondisclosure clauses.

For the past 50 years, The Oaks has been in the private hands of the Thomas family with David ‘Taffy’ Thomas about to pass over the keys to a Cornish man.

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The large beer garden is known Sydneywide and the 80-year-old English Oak tree is much-loved.

Many celebrities and sports stars have drunk at The Oaks including actor John Meillon, OBE after whom a bar was named.

The pub sits on a prominent corner on 2188 sqm of land with zoning that allows for up to a five-storey development, subject to council approval.

The new owners are expected to take over this month.

Any sale over $160m would be a new record for the exchange of an Australian pub, eclipsing the $160m paid for the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney’s southwest.