Tony Bilson, OAM (1944-2020), chef, grew up in Melbourne and opened 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 flowed over the road from Jimmy Watson's Wine Bar. With his then-partner Gay, he left Melbourne for Sydney. There, in 1973, the couple opened Tony's Bon Goût, the establishment, according to Mietta's guide, which began to flush the Labor Party out of clubs and pubs into 'trendy bistros'. After he established Berowra Waters Inn with Gay in the mid-1970s, Bilson 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 in the early 1980s; the Sydney Dance Company made one of its earliest appearances there. Bilson's, adjacent to the International Terminal at Circular Quay, set a new standard for luxurious Sydney dining. Regarded as an 'elder statesman' of Australian restaurateurs, Bilson wrote numerous books about food and a memoir Insatiable: My Life in the Kitchen. A sought-after speaker and contributor to newspapers, magazines and media events, Bilson passed away in 2020 aged 76.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Tony Bilson 2008
© George Fetting/Copyright Agency, 2024
Tony Bilson OAM (1 portrait)
On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves.
Anne Sanders imbibes Tony Bilson’s gastronomic revolution.
Basketballer Andrew Gaze and photographer George Fetting.
