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A new generation of fans are fawning over famous TV chef Huey

Huey's back as a TikTok sensation!
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Call Iain โ€œHueyโ€ Hewitson โ€œhotโ€ and he just belly laughs. Yet, to his own surprise, the celebrity chef has become an unlikely sex symbol at the age of 75.

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Since his recent TikTok debut, the โ€™90s Aussie TV favourite has won a legion of new young foodie fans. They love his crazy suspenders, walrus moustache and fun-loving chuckle, not to mention
his all-round kitchen skills.

โ€œHahahahahaha,โ€ chortles the former Ten lifestyle star, astonished by his latter-day hunky status. โ€œI reckon they need new glasses, these people. You know itโ€™s been funny, a lot of them say I look exactly the same, that I havenโ€™t aged a bit. God, my hairโ€™s white these days! But I will take all the compliments, no problem.โ€

According to some online commentators, Huey is a suave โ€œsilver foxโ€ whose โ€œsmooth one-liners make him a kingโ€ as he โ€œcontinues to age like a fine wineโ€.

The New Zealand-born chef was on our TV in the โ€™90s. (Image: Supplied)
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SOCIAL MEDIA SENSATION

This isnโ€™t exactly what the former Healthy, Wealthy And Wise presenter expected when his 22-year-old daughter Charlotte urged him to give video sharing platform TikTok a go. From his kitchen at home in Melbourne, they filmed a short introductory segment and hit send.

Within 48 hours, their first effort notched up more than 500,000 views and about 60,000 followers. Now Hueyโ€™s first three โ€œwarts and allโ€ posts have received almost 1 million hits โ€“ probably even more by the time you read this!

โ€œBloody hell, I nearly fell off my bloody chair when Charlotte told me,โ€ exclaims the Kiwi-born chef, restaurateur, author, TV personality and one-time folk singer.

โ€œItโ€™s been interesting, thatโ€™s the word I suppose you would use, but itโ€™s been flattering. Very exciting and interesting and flattering. I really couldnโ€™t believe it.โ€

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Huey might be blown away by his new audience but heโ€™s also equally astonished by how many past admirers have been in contact to welcome his return.

Hueyโ€™s cooking up classics on his TikTok account! (Images: TikTok)

โ€œWe got all these emails that say, โ€˜We dodged out of school to watch you. We rushed home from school,โ€™ and they had grown up with meโ€ฆ Some of them said they even took sickies to tune in!

โ€œA lot of them reckon I taught them to cook at home โ€“ so I guess itโ€™s my fault if theyโ€™re doing it badly!โ€ he says with another giant guffaw that threatens to snap his fruit-patterned braces. โ€œBut itโ€™s nice to know I havenโ€™t been forgotten.โ€

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One woman told him she thought he was dead. She was sure sheโ€™d attended his state funeral. โ€œFair go, I canโ€™t imagine a Kiwi like me ever making a state funeral,โ€ quips the ever-affable Huey. โ€œIt turned out to be Big Kev [McQuay], King of Cleaning, who died in 2005.โ€

Unlike some other plus-sized celebrities, the host of Hueyโ€™s TV Dinner, Hueyโ€™s Cooking Adventures and Hueyโ€™s Kitchen is very much alive and kicking. Whatโ€™s the secret of his long-lived popularity?

โ€œI remember Gavan Disney, the production guru from Healthy, Wealthy And Wise telling me, โ€˜Forget all the fancy sh*t. We want uncomplicated food that people can actually cook at home without over-the-top ingredients or great culinary skills.โ€™

Huey on his lifestyle show Healthy, Wealthy And Wise. (Image: Supplied)
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KEEPING IT SIMPLE

โ€œAnd thatโ€™s the exact response weโ€™re getting. I did a TikTok recipe for homemade mayo โ€“ how simple is that โ€“ and it got 400,000 hits. My mustard vinaigrette video is booming along quite happily too.

โ€œIโ€™m not knocking MasterChef, but itโ€™s very rare to get a recipe on there that you rush into the kitchen to make it straight away. But my audience will knock up a simple soup or salad. Thatโ€™s the stuff they want to know about, and thatโ€™s exactly what Charlotte told me. Sheโ€™s done a great job.โ€

Huey fondly recalls some words of advice given to him by the late, great Bert Newton, when he was presenting Good Morning Australiaโ€™s cooking segments.

โ€œYou know youโ€™re past your prime when someone comes up to you and says, โ€˜Didnโ€™t you used to be Huey?โ€™ Thatโ€™s what Bert reckoned. Well, no one has done that to me as yet, thank God!โ€

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