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For decades, the Good Food Guide recognised Teage Ezard as one of Victoria’s finest chefs, first at Guernica, then at his three-hatter Ezard, then at laneway restaurant Gingerboy and the Yarra Valley’s grand Levantine Hill.
Now, we also honour Teage Ezard for his legacy as founder of Combat MSA, a movement seeking to support those suffering from Multiple System Atrophy, the disease that ended Teage’s life in March 2026 when he was just 59 years of age.
Even among medical specialists, there was little awareness of MSA when Teage developed symptoms such as vertigo and a lack of energy in 2019. By the time he was finally diagnosed in 2024, he was well in the grips of an aggressive neurological disease with no cure.
“My body was speaking long before anyone knew how to listen,” he said. “REM sleep issues. Autonomic symptoms. Movement changes. The signs were there. The system just wasn’t built to see them.”
The charity is now led by Teage’s widow Tina Ezard. A tireless worker behind the scenes in the family’s restaurants, she’s now putting her skills, energy and creativity to work in a charity that creates awareness, drives advocacy, funds research and offers dignity to those diagnosed with MSA in Australia.
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The Ezards’ journey was lonely, frightening and rapid. Thanks to the work of Combat MSA, those who face the disease today are met with hope, strategy and community.