TONY TWITCHETT

Born in Kergunyah, Kiewa Valley in the North East Victoria; as the youngest of four boys, Tony Twitchett discovered his passion for food by preparing routine family meals with his mother and brothers.

At the age of 17, Tony moved to Melbourne to join his elder brothers Paul and Peter at Royal Arcade restaurant Luciano’s. He then moved on to start his 4 year apprenticeship at The Stokehouse, St Kilda in 1997. From here he was classically trained by British chefs on the fine French cooking techniques in kitchens, alongside well known chefs such as Michael Lambie & Paul Raynor.

Tony then spent 2 years working with chefs like Robert Cunningham & Teague Ezard. During this time, Tony established his love for Chinese and Southeast Asian cuisines, which he further explored while travelling through these regions.

Twitchett moved from a stint at Ezards in the CBD and was reunited with Chef Michael Lambie at Circa. The two continued to develop a great friendship, and here began their cooking partnership, which sustained when Tony accompanied him to Taxi Dining Room in Federation Square, 2004. At the age of 26, Tony was appointed Head Chef.

During his 5 years as Head Chef, Taxi was awarded Restaurant of the Year 2006 and held 2 Hats. Then in 2009 Tony, – under Taxi Dining Room’s same umbrella company, Sovereign Hotel Group – opened Barkers Wine Bar & Bistro in Hawthorn. Here his Modern Australian gourmet cuisine challenged the notion of ‘pub grub’ and brought a gastro pub experience to the local area.

After a successful 14 months at The Barkers, Tony has come home to Taxi as Executive Chef. This position has allowed him to push Taxi into the next generation of the iconic restaurant, which is Taxi Dining Room.