Celebrity chef Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson tells all: Beloved cook spills his kitchen secrets – and the trick for bolognese sauce nobody saw coming

Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson was a beloved part of Australian TV for decades – and now, after a hugely successful return to TikTok, he’s back to sharing his top kitchen secrets.

Mr. Hewitson began hosting the series Healthy, Wealthy and Wise in 1992 and subsequently fronted the programs Huey’s Cooking Adventures (1997) and Huey’s Kitchen (2010).

His last new cooking episode was broadcast for free in 2014.

Since receiving the proverbial pat on the back from commercial TV bosses, the Melbourne-based Kiwi chef has kept a low profile.

But that all changed earlier this year when Hewitson’s 22-year-old daughter Charlotte encouraged him to start a TikTok — and within days he racked up hundreds of thousands of views with videos that struck a nostalgic chord with fans.

The 75-year-old told FEMAIL he felt “humbled” by the instant success, adding that his philosophy on TikTok is no different than when he was on TV: inspiring others and teaching them how to cook.

As for the Hewitson family’s Christmas menu, nothing is set in stone, except the top chef’s famous glazed ham.

“What I cook on Christmas Day changes every year,” he said. “We’re not a shrimp and crayfish family.”

Mr. Hewitson is a big believer in starting with something you’ve done ahead of time so you don’t have to toil in the kitchen all day.

‘I like to prepare smoked salmon or smoked trout and asparagus and beans that have been blanched and freshened are always a good option.

‘Good cheese is a must – and no cheese to end the meal. I often serve burrata or baby bocconcini with lots of bread.

‘Summer is also the time of really good tomatoes, which go perfectly with cheese and bread.’

Mr. Hewitson prefers many large dishes and he drizzles them with fig balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

His Glazed Ham is simple and easy to make with pantry staples you may already have in your cupboard.

The chef uses canned pineapple juice, ground sugar and Dijon mustard for the glaze.

‘It’s quite thin at first, but it caramelises as it cooks. You just keep basting the ham with it after you take the skin off,” he says.

‘I don’t worry about anything else. It’s a really nice glaze on its own because it’s sweet, but it also has the flavor of the mustard.”

Another annual staple in the Hewitson household is a Thai salmon salad.

‘I make it with fresh salmon that has been grilled with a delicious Thai dressing. I added wombok, grated carrots and lots of fresh herbs like coriander and mint leaves,” he says.

When it comes to ‘controversial’ Christmas recipes, Mr Hewitson revealed he has a penchant for anchovies on bread.

‘One year I had a large batch of anchovies and I put them on baguettes that I rubbed with olive oil and baked in the oven.

‘It was extremely popular, but my friends are anchovy eaters. We all know there’s no difference between them: you either love them or you hate them.’

In terms of hosting, the chef’s ‘ultimate hospitality tip’ is to hand guests a packet of food to take home after the meal.

‘It’s wonderful to eat the leftovers in the coming days, but it’s even more fun to wrap the food in foil and give it to your loved ones so they can enjoy a sandwich too.’

He added: ‘It’s not just about me being a nice guy – it also saves you from all those leftovers in the back of your fridge turning green. You don’t have to feel guilty if you don’t eat them.’

What are Huey’s six basic products?

There are several basic products he cannot live without.

‘I always have good olive oil. You also need balsamic and sherry vinegar,” he says.

When it comes to Asian ingredients, Mr Hewitson uses four and does so daily.

‘I have soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce and sambal.

‘I knew a chef from Sydney whose signature ingredient was lemon – she added a squeeze of lemon to everything.

‘I don’t use much lemon, but I add sambal to everything, whether it’s necessary or not.’

Mr Hewitson’s love for the ingredient runs so deep that he discovered an unlikely dish in which it would star.

‘I recently collaborated with Leggo’s for a puttanesca recipe.

‘The campaign was about how recipes aren’t set in stone – and in Australia we often have our own variations on classic dishes.

“We put pineapple on pizza, we don’t care if we upset the nonnas.

‘My addition to puttanesca is soy and sambal – and it’s incredible.’

Huey’s tips for cooking with cream and butter

Mr Hewitson, who is known for his love and generous use of butter and cream, said there is no substitute to maintain the flavor they provide.

Instead, “moderation” is the key.

“My mother and grandmother lived to be 94 and 96 years old respectively, and for them butter and cream were the two essential ingredients,” he says.

‘My mother always cooked our breakfast in butter; there was no such thing as oil in our house.

‘But moderation is very important: I add a lot of butter and cream to things, but not to every dish.

“I’m not like the French,” he laughed.

If the chef wants to reduce the amount of fat in a dish, he uses olive oil and a little butter.

However, he revealed that butter and cream were not necessary when cooking vegetables.

‘When you cook stir-fry vegetables, all you need is a little oil, some garlic and ginger.

‘I went to Mr Wong in Sydney recently and that’s exactly what we had: beautiful vegetables in a wok with ginger and garlic.’

Huey’s unconventional cooking tips

Mr Hewitson is no stranger to experimenting with food – and his unusual hacks prove it.

This is how you perfect spaghetti bolognese

When asked what it takes to make the perfect spaghetti bolognese, the top chef suggested adding a square of dark chocolate to the sauce.

“It’s damn beautiful,” he insisted.

‘I know we’re talking about Italian food, but Mexicans like to add a little chocolate to it, which enriches the taste.

“There’s no way you would stand there and say it has chocolate in it.” It’s just rich and beautiful.’

This is how you perfect scrambled eggs

“The secret of scrambled eggs has been passed down from generation to generation, but amateur chefs today don’t know how to make them,” he says.

‘Our mothers have little time and no longer learn the basics. Maybe they teach their kids stir-fry or barbecue, but no one thinks about the basics.”

The chef said he always uses heavy cream in his egg batter and beats it with a fork instead of a whisk.

‘The secret to scrambled eggs is not to overcook them.

‘Mix the eggs with the cream and put this in a pan when the butter has just melted.

‘Continue stirring and pulling the curd as it forms on the outside, pushing it towards the center.

‘Take them off before they’re gone because, like most dishes, they will continue to cook once you remove them from the heat source.’

Adding cream to the batter is a trick popularized by the late chef Bill Granger was described by the New York Times as ‘Sydney’s egg master’ and is credited with making scrambled eggs ‘sexy’.

His café bills in Darlinghurst are celebrated for featuring ‘perfected’ scrambled eggs described by one food critic as ‘light as an angel’s breath’.

Hewitson said, “I think Bill’s recipe had equal amounts of cream and eggs, but I’m not going to do that. I like to add a good dollop of cream to my eggs before beating them with a fork.”

The chef advised against using a whisk because you want to keep some air in it.

This is how you perfect mashed potatoes

“I’m a big believer in going to the local greengrocer and asking for the best puree options,” he says.

The goal, he explains, is floury potatoes, not waxy potatoes.

‘Once you have boiled the potatoes and are done, drain them well and put them back in the pan with some milk.

‘I let the milk bubble up and then puree them, adding a little bit of cream and a little bit of butter.

‘I also like potatoes a bit chunky, you don’t have to put them through a sieve or do anything special.’

Mr Hewitson also adds chopped chives and spring onions to his dish.

This is how you cook the perfect steak

Mr Hewitson recommends buying your meat from a butcher and not from the supermarket.

‘Even though supermarket meat has improved enormously in recent years, you still have to go to the butcher.

“The other thing is to take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before you cook it to bring it to room temperature.”

The top chef said you should always let your steak rest for ten minutes so the meat can ‘relax’.

‘When you put steak on the grill, all the juices run to the center due to the heat.

‘If you cut it after it comes off the barbecue, the juices are still in the middle and they just flow out.

“But if you let it rest, the juices spread throughout the steak and it becomes infinitely more tender.”