Iain
Hewitson

Iain Hewitson was born in Otaki, New Zealand, in 1948, and for just over 50 years, he has been a Chef/ Restaurateur in both Australia and New Zealand.

From a family with a keen interest in food, Iain was first introduced to the industry by his elder brother, Don, who for the past 40-plus years has owned and operated several leading London wine bars and restaurants.

Admittedly, Iain’s first involvement in kitchens was not in a position of great prestige. At the time, masquerading as a guitarist in various bands, including New Zealand Battle of the Bands’ winners “Cellophane” and “Sebastian’s Floral Array” in typical musician’s style, much restaurant washing of dishes was needed to keep body and soul together.

Fortunately, even in such a humble position, a flicker of talent was evident, and he was soon elevated to the exalted position of salad hand. And, when lack of talent eventually won out in the music business, it seemed only logical to pursue a career as a chef, and a passion for the restaurant business soon developed.

Arriving in Australia in 1972, Iain quickly established himself as one of the country’s leading chefs and for many years was at the cutting edge of the restaurant scene – with establishments such as Clichy, Fleurie, Champagne Charlie’s, The Last Aussie Fishcaf, Memories of the Mediterranean, Tolarno Bistro and Barney Allen’s Bar & Diner, receiving both public and critical acclaim. His last venture, Big Huey’s Diner, was located in South Melbourne.

From 1991, Iain was a feature on television, firstly with the shows “Healthy, Wealthy & Wise” and “A Cook’s Journey”, followed by “Huey’s TV Dinner”, “Never Trust a Skinny Cook”, “Huey’s Cooking Adventures” and “Huey’s Kitchen”. “Huey’s Cooking Adventures” was rated as the top daytime show nationally with over 1.7 million viewers weekly, whilst “Never Trust a Skinny Cook” was shown in over 100 countries worldwide, as was “The Rex Hunt Fishing Show” on which Iain also featured.

In 2016, Iain celebrated 25 continuous years on television, and these days can be found on YouTube with his show “Huey’s Fabulous Fast Food for One (or Two)”, as well as on TikTok and Instagram.

Iain has published nine books: “A Cook’s Journey”; “Tales and Recipes from a Travelling Cook”; “The Huey Diet”; “Huey’s Greatest Hits”; “Huey’s Best Ever Barbecue Recipes”; “Never Trust a Skinny Cook”; “Tolarno Bistro. The life, times and recipes of a remarkable restaurant, “Huey’s Bloody Good Recipes” and “Huey’s Best Ever Recipes”, have sold over 200,000 books in total. He is currently finishing his Memoirs, “Who Called the Cook a Bastard”, which will be released early next year in his various shows.