Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Melbourne Grammar school before opening his first restaurant, La Pomme d'Or, in Camberwell in 1971. Moving to the Albion Hotel in Carlton, he served French-inspired cuisine to regulars who spilled over the road from Jimmy Watson's Wine Bar. With his wife Gay, he left Melbourne for Sydney. There the couple opened Tony's Bon Goût in Elizabeth Street, an establishment, it has been said, which was instrumental in luring 'the Labor Party from their clubs and pubs into trendy bistros'. After establishing Berowra Waters - continued by Gay Bilson after the couple separated - Tony and his financial partner Leon Fink set up Kinselas, a theatre, bar and restaurant in a former funeral parlour in Taylor Square. The restaurant was central to the reinvention of the area as a cultural precinct; here the Sydney Dance Company made one of its earliest appearances, and Leo Schofield held court. Bilson's, adjacent to the International terminal at Circular Quay, set a new bar for luxurious Sydney dining before a falling-out between Bilson and Fink saw the chef moving to a more modest establishment, Fine Bouche in East Sydney. After a stint at the stoves at the Treasury Restaurant at the Sydney Intercontinental Hotel, he established Ampersand at Cockle Bay before becoming executive chef at Arena at Fox Studios. Bilson published five books about food. Regarded as an 'elder statesman' of Australian restaurateurs, he was a sought-after speaker and a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines. Tony Bilson passed away in January 2020 aged 76.
