New Zealand born Johnson began his career in food as an apprentice chef and spent a number of years chefing in Sydney and Auckland restaurant kitchens before permanently moving to Sydney in 1987. In 1992 Simon opened a showroom for Chefs in Pyrmont, Sydney, with Australia’s first specialist in-store fromagerie. It wasn’t long before the showroom transformed into a retail store due to the increasing demand from Sydney’s foodie public. He now has 7 Simon Johnson retail stores located in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia and runs an annual series of cooking seminars - ‘Talk, Eat, Drink’ at the Pyrmont store. The wholesale distribution covers New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, with distributors appointed to service Queensland, Tasmania and South Australia. Customers include five star hotels, premium restaurants, caterers, airlines and specialist food retailers.
The wholesale and retail product ranges have increased significantly over the years and the development of the Simon Johnson branded range is now recognized as a benchmark for quality. Simon continues traveling overseas, meeting artisan producers and importing exclusively to Australia the finest foods produced in the northern hemisphere, including fresh seasonal truffles from Perigord, and from agencies such as Duchy Originals, Valrhona, Colonna and Ortiz. A regular judge of Australian cheese and olive oil, Simon has trained as a specialist international olive oil tasting judge with the IOOC, an international consortium concerned with the strict quality control and marketing standards of olive oil around the world. A strong supporter of the arts and a council member of the Sydney Symphony, Simon is also a major contributor to fund raising events for Starlight Children’s Foundation Australia Starball, Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation Gold Dinner, Sydney Cancer Centre Foundation and the Sydney Symphony Krug Dinner.