World-renowned Aussie chef Bill Granger died following a battle with cancer.
The 54-year-old is understood to have been diagnosed with the disease months ago before he passed away in hospital surrounded by family on Christmas Day.
‘A dedicated husband and father, Bill died peacefully in hospital with his wife Natalie Elliott and three daughters, Edie, Inès and Bunny, at his bedside in their adopted home of London,’ the post read.
‘He will be deeply missed by all, with his loss most profoundly felt by his adored family, who are grateful for all the love and support that has been given.’
Born in Melbourne, , Granger was a self-taught cook who became a celebrated global restaurateur and food writer with a career spanning more than 30 years.
World-renowned n chef Bill Granger (pictured) has died at the age of 54
In 1999, Granger and his wife, Natalie, began a professional partnership that launched the business globally. Together they built a successful business that today has 19 restaurants across Sydney, London, Greater Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka and Seoul.
Bill authored 14 cookbooks, made five TV series and was honoured with the Medal of the Order of in January 2023.
He will be remembered as the ‘King of Breakfast’, for making unpretentious food into something special, and for spurring the growth of n informal and communal eating around the world.
Granger’s sudden death triggered an outpouring of grief from the n and international food community.
‘I’m heartbroken to hear this. So cruel. Deepest love to N, E, I and B,’ British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson wrote.
Jamie Oliver, 47, wrote he was ‘devastated’ by the news of Granger’s death and described the chef as a ‘wonderful human’ who made good food.
‘This is devastating news, I’m so sad to hear this, what a guy he was …. a wonderful human, kind calm soul,’ he wrote.
‘I admired everything he represented in food. I remember the first time I met him many moons ago he couldn’t have been nicer and his food so good.
Granger dropped out of art school at the age of 21 to open his first ‘bills’ restaurant in Sydney’s Darlinghurst (pictured) in 1992
British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver shared tributes to Bill Granger, calling the fellow chef a ‘wonderful man’ (pictured)
‘Sending so much love to all his family. Rest in peace, Bill, he will be sorely missed jox xx.’
Sydney chef and Netflix star Mark Best also shared a touching tribute to Granger and his family describing him as a ‘gorgeous man leaving behind a beautiful family’.
Chef Sean Moran paid tribute to Granger’s contribution to the international culinary world.
‘Way too soon. What a class act you were Bill. Thank you for everything you have done to put n food on a global stage,’ Moran wrote.
‘You will be greatly missed. Heartfelt love to dearest Nat and your beautiful girls.’
MasterChef host Matt Preston said he was sad to hear the news of Mr Granger’s death.
‘Bill was a genuinely lovely bloke and an inspiration. Together he (with Natalie by his side) helped shape the image of modern n food around the world,’ he said.
‘My thoughts are with his family, friends and all those he worked with at this sad time.’
n media personality and TV presenter Deborah Hutton, 62, shared a touching tribute to Granger and his much-loved scrambled eggs.
‘OMG …this is such terrible news. Heartbreaking,’ Hutton wrote.
‘What a sweetheart was…creating the first communal table at Darlo and perfecting humble scrambled eggs.
‘My love and condolences to Nat and the kids…unbearable for them.’
The Block judge Neale Whitaker also mourned the loss of the revered food writer.
‘This is such terribly sad news. Bill defined an era in food for so many of us in Sydney and beyond,’ Whitaker said.
‘Sending much love to Natalie, Edie, Ines, Bunny and Bill’s extended family. Vale Bill Granger.’
Granger has been credited with inventing famous breakfast snacks including avocado on toast and fluffy scrambled eggs
In a post, n actor and singer Jason Donovan called Mr Granger a ‘kind, gentle soul’.
‘Devastating. Beautiful man. A ray of Aussie sunshine always in our adopted Notting Hill Neighbourhood,’ Donovan wrote.
‘My thoughts are with Nat, Edie, Ines and Bunny. Peace my friend.’
Granger’s death was also met with grief in the UK, his ‘adopted’ home.
British TV presenter and wine expert Olly Smith said: ‘Love to you all. Here’s to Bill, the rarest of gentle gems.’
London chef and author Nina Parker said: ‘So, so sad to hear this news of Bill. The food world has lost a very special chef.’
UK online food creator Elly Curshen added: ‘Such sad news. What a legacy.’
Granger dropped out of art school at the age of 21 to open his first ‘bills’ restaurant in Sydney’s Darlinghurst in 1992.
The chef was credited with inventing a breakfast staple that ended up defining a generation – the humble avocado on toast.
The Washington Post traced the first ‘recorded sighting’ of avocado on toast to Granger’s Darlinghurst cafe. The chef put the now-famous breakfast snack on the menu in 1993 out of necessity.
He had restricted trading hours of 7am to 4pm, meaning he had to open for breakfast to pay the rent.
Granger is also credited as being the first person to put the recipe in a cookbook, which he said felt ‘silly’ at the time.
For decades the Darlinghurst cafe was also celebrated for having perfected scrambled eggs.
Bills restaurant Surry Hills Sydney (pictured)
Granger (left) pictured in bills restaurant in Darlinghurst in its opening year in 1993
Granger first came to international attention in 2002 when the New York Times dubbed him ‘the egg master of Sydney’, describing his the scrambled eggs at his restaurant ‘as light as the breath of an angel’.
Served with sourdough toast, the $16.50 classic breakfast menu item quickly became the go-to dish for diners at bills.
Granger revealed the secret to the best scrambled eggs is using free-range eggs and lots of cream – that can be substituted with skim milk to make them fluffy.
‘The secret to our super creamy scrambled eggs? Move quick on the pan – and don’t hold out on the cultured butter,’ he wrote on Instagram.