Ask celebrity chef Iain “Huey” Hewitson his greatest achievement and there’s no hesitation. “I’m still bloody here,” chuckles the TV foodie and TikTok star, who’s soon set to celebrate his 78th birthday.
It’s a milestone Huey admits fearing he might not live to see. For the past two years, he’s been “in and out of hospital” while doctors tried to diagnose the severe knee problem that left him struggling to walk.
“Hopefully it’s better now,” says Ten’s former Healthy, Wealthy & Wise lifestyle favourite, whose wacky suspenders, walrus moustache and undeniable skill with food made him famous in the 1990s.
“I’ve had a lot of trouble with my legs and knees, but that’s the wonderful thing about spending 50 years on hard surfaces in kitchens. I guess I just have a typical hospitality problem. Luckily I’m big and tough. I can’t complain too bloody much because it hasn’t been painful.
“They couldn’t find out what was causing it, that was the problem,” explains the four-times married, one-time folk singer. “I’m still hobbling, but touch wood, I’ll be running a marathon any day now. Mentally I’m fine but my knees are a problem.”
Labour of love
Huey being Huey, the big man didn’t sit back and feel sorry for himself while specialists probed and prodded his lower limbs. Instead, he decided to pen a colourful book – Who Called The Cook A Bastard? – about his life and times, from NZ Battle of the Bands winner to acclaimed Melbourne restaurateur.
“When I started off, it was only going to be 30 or 40 pages, but it’s grown to almost 500,” laughs the proud Kiwi-born author. “It’s not a nasty book, that’s the thing. The nasty parts in it are nearly all about me, because I was a bit of a pr**k at times, I must admit!
“There’s a lot of laughter and a few tears as well…” Not least remembering the death of his first wife Pam Potter – the keyboard player in his then-band – who was killed in a car crash aged only 22, shortly after they moved to Sydney.
“It was tough, very tough,” Huey chokes up. “Yeah, anyways, those were some of the tears, certainly. She was a real go-getter, Pam. She worked in the kitchen with me, too. Everything she turned her hand to, she did well. It’s tough still, talking about it.”
Writing the memoir longhand – Huey doesn’t have a computer, a driving licence or even a mobile phone – turned into a two-year labour of love. Especially for his wife Ruth Krawat, 65, who typed up the manuscript.
“The poor bugger did it with great joy, of course,” jokes Huey, who finally met his match 28 years ago when Ruth and a friend came for a drink at one of his bars.
“I’m absolutely hopeless, 100 per cent technically inept, but my writing is quite neat so that probably helped.”
Is the way to a woman’s heart through her stomach?
“No, it’s when you just say, ‘Yes, dear.’ That’s the secret,” grins Huey. “To be fair, I don’t cook at home, I never have. That’s the last thing I want to do after work. I’m happy to take Ruth out to a terrific restaurant for a meal. But she’s a cook and a bloody good one too. She does it all, except for the Christmas feast.”
With daughter Charlotte, 25, they’re a tight-knit unit. But Huey, who was something of a ladies man back in the day, is delighted to be dubbed “a suave silver fox” by his legion of new young foodie fans.
It’s not what he expected when Charlotte urged him to give video sharing platforms YouTube and TikTok a go. Their first effort, filmed in the family kitchen, rapidly notched up more than 500,000 views and he was later nominated for Food Creator of the Year at the 2024 Australian TikTok Awards.
Still kicking
Blown away by his new audience, he’s also astonished how many past admirers have been in touch to welcome his return with “good, basic food, nothing fancy-pants,” that people can actually cook at home.
“The funniest thing is that I got a lot of emails from people who told me they thought I was dead, cheeky bastards. Anyway, I’m not dead, although I was worried there for a while…
“It’s nice to know I haven’t been forgotten. I’d just like some of them to buy this book for the moment.”
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