The Original Masterchef

Simon Eckersley at Tony Bilson's book launch

Ita Buttrose,Tony Bilson, Margaret Fulton

 He's always referred to as the 'Godfather of Australian cuisine' or the 'original Masterchef' and chef Tony Bilson undoubtedly deserves the titles. From small beginnings with his Tony's Bon Gout  that opened near the railway line at Central Station, Bilson was undoubtedly the first to introduce nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s and all others have followed since.

His next venture Berowa Waters Inn became a legend. Only accessible by sea-plane and nestled over the calm Berowa Waters it was packed every night with a 3 month waiting list for a table. His 'apprentice' there-Tetsuya Wakuda has gone in similar fashion with his city restaurant having an even longer wait time for tables and Tetsuya the biggest food star in Japan.

Another Bilson successful chef is the Dancing With The Stars champion Manu Feildel. And that's par for the course with Bilson whose first cook book Fine Family Food published 15 years ago is still used to inspire and instruct competitors in 'Masterchef Australia'

Tetsuya and Lucio

John Bell

In 2006 Tony was inducted into the Restaurant & Catering Hall of Fame and the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide honoured him with a special award for his contribution to the industry.

Murdoch Books and Matt Hanbury, Tony Bilson's publisher hosted a party at the Radisson Hotel where Tony's current venture  Bilson's is located, to launch Bilson's new book.
                                                                                          Insatiable-My Life In The Kitchen is a must read in which the bon vivant  recounts wild nights and wild appetites with an extraordinary cast of artists, painters, writers and politicians. It's a Who’s Who of Australian cultural life from the late 1960s to the present-day.

Stars may head towards Bilsons when they touch down in Sydney (Leo DiCaprio three times now) but the proof of Bilson's pulling power is the number of foodies that flock there whenever in town. In the past 3 months he has fed Rick Stein, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Paul Bocuse, Anthony Bourdain and A.A.Gill.

Those sipping Moet & Chandon at the launch included Ashley Dawson Damer, Ray Hughes, Margaret Fulton, Tetsuya Wakuda, Ita Buttrose, actors John Bell and Graeme Blundell and Lucio Galletto.

Buy Tony Bilson's Insatiable here