5 Minutes With Tony Bilson

5 Minutes With Tony Bilson

Cuisine Now is the delicious brainchild of celebrated Master Chef Tony Bilson. Starting 11 January 2011, the 2-week festival of gastronomy will showcase a series of culinary events offering the public a chance to experience the extraordinary talents of Australian and French internationally renowned chefs. Coinciding with the Sydney Festival, Cuisine Now gives gastronomes the chance to sample the finest food offerings and to learn from the culinary maestros.

Take part in masterclasses with chefs including Tetsuya Wakuda, Shannon Bennett and Tony himself, enjoy dinner with visiting international chefs or treat yourself to the gala dinner on 17 January where 7 of the chefs come together to create a once-in-a-lifetime culinary experience.

Find out more and book online at cuisinenow.com.au.

Cuisine Now is one of the greatest food experiences in the world. What are you most excited about with this year's event?
Working with the young chefs who are taking part in this year's event, both Australian and French, who are paving the way for the future of international cuisine. These are the great chefs today and the stars of the future.

How do you see Cuisine Now evolving over coming years?
I see it providing a bridge between the different styles of cooking - classical, regional and experimental - and placing these in context for the general public.

There's a strong French influence with participating chefs and of course with your own style of cooking. What's one French dish you'd love all home cooks to master?
There not one dish - it's more to do with creating a complexity of flavours, together with the successful marriage of food with wine. This is what enriches our lives.

What summer ingredients do you love cooking with at the moment?
Local lobsters and snapper, stone fruits - and, of course, Perigord truffles.

What's on the menu for Christmas and New Years at your place?
Fig and Truffle Salad, Carpaccio of Lobster with Caviars, Grilled Muscovy Duck Breasts with White Peaches, Christmas Pudding with a Cognac Sabayon.