Vilmos "Vili" Milisits (8 September 1948 – 26 March 2021)
was an Australian
pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...
and businessman of
Hungarian origin, noted for the businesses Vili's Pies and Vili's Café (also known as the "Café de Vili's") in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, South Australia.
Early life and career
The Milisits family escaped the
Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and migrated to Adelaide, South Australia. Their first home was a modest place in Carrington Street in the city. Vili left school aged 14 to work at Kazzy's Cake Shop in
Burnside, run by fellow countryman Kazzy Ujvari. After completing his apprenticeship he ventured to open his own Continental cake shop using rented equipment and employing his fiancée, Rosemary and his sister, as he was unable to secure a bank loan. (His sister later opened her own ''patisserie'', "Olga's Cakes", in
Leigh Street, Adelaide
Hindley Street is located in the north-west quarter of the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia. It runs between King William Street and West Terrace. The street was named after Charles Hindley, a British parliamentarian and so ...
). Around 1965 he purchased a home at 14 Manchester Street,
Mile End
Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...
, which doubled as a bakery.
[Hopkins, Nigel ''Vili Milisits: The Whole World in his Hands'']
SA Life
''InDaily'', initially the online subscriber daily news service is of weekly newspaper, ''The Independent Weekly'', replaced the printed version entirely in November 2010. It shares its website with ''CityMag'', a weekly digital magazine whic ...
(2006) p.49 PDF accessed 27 July 2013
In 1978 Milisits expanded his range to include Australian-style pies and pasties, but with pastry and spices more to his own taste. Business steadily grew and he owned much of the property along Manchester Street and has 200 employees in Adelaide, and has expanded interstate.
[
]
Vilis Café
Vili's Café, on Manchester Street, Mile End, is a restaurant where any of the bakery's range may be purchased for consumption or to take away. There is also a range of simple meals and alcoholic beverages available at sensible prices to be served at the tables.
One of the few places in Adelaide where Adelaide's traditional pie floater
The pie floater is an Australian dish particularly common in Adelaide. It consists of a meat pie in a thick pea soup, typically with the addition of tomato sauce. Believed to have been first created in the 1890s, the pie floater gained populari ...
is still served, the café is open 24 hours, every day of the year and attracts a large cross-section of Adelaide's population. It is popularly known as the "Café de Vilis", a punning reference to Harry's Cafe de Wheels
Harry may refer to:
TV shows
* ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin
* ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons
* ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...
of Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. A second Vili's cafe opened on Main North Road at Blair Athol.
Personal life
Milisits married Rosemary, and they had two children, Simon and Alison, who are involved in the business.
Milisits was a keen fisherman, and participated in many social activities. He was a supporter of a large number of local charities as well as sporting groups both amateur and professional. The walls of Vilis Café are proudly adorned with mementoes from some of these organisations.
Milisits underwent a lung transplant operation on 26 March 2021 at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney is a leading tertiary referral hospital and research facility located in Darlinghurst, Sydney. Though funded and integrated into the New South Wales state public health system, it is operated by St Vincent's Heal ...
. The operation was successful, but he died the next day from an unrelated medical condition, aged 72.
Recognition
In 2005, Milisits and his wife Rosemary were jointly awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(OAM) in recognition of their charity work.[ A State Memorial Service was held at the Adelaide Festival Centre on 30 April 2021 and the Australian National Flag was flown at half-mast throughout South Australia on that day.]
References
External links
Vilis Cakes home page
Café de Vili's Blair Athol
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milisits, Vili
1948 births
2021 deaths
Australian food industry businesspeople
Hungarian emigrants to Australia
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia