By Nell Geraets
Legendary Australian TV chef Peter Russell-Clarke has died in Melbourne at the age of 89.
The renowned cook, who became one of the country’s first celebrity TV chefs in the 1980s, died on Friday following complications after a stroke. He was surrounded by his wife, Jan – whom he was married to for over 65 years – and two children, Peter and Wendy.
TV chef Peter Russell-Clarke has died at the age of 89.Credit: Grant Peterson/Fairfax Media
Russell-Clarke enjoyed a varied career as a writer, illustrator, author and artist. However, he was best known for his cooking, which he shared on the ABC’s lifestyle show Come and Get It. The series began in 1983 and ran for nine years, resulting in about 900 episodes.
Despite each episode being just five minutes long, Russell-Clarke quickly became a staple in Australian kitchens, recognised particularly for his signature sayings such as “you beauts” and perhaps most famously “where’s the cheese?”
Close friend and former Victorian senator Derryn Hinch said Russell-Clarke will be remembered for making cooking fun – for reminding people that you can be adventurous in your kitchen even if you’re just cooking for yourself.
“We were known as the bearded bookends,” Hinch said. “He taught me many things, including how to put crushed pepper on fresh strawberries. It sounds crazy, but it tastes brilliant. He once even cooked a steak for Prince Charles [at the Silver Jubilee dinner] and put fruit on it, which of course was a big no no. He was a loveable rogue.”
His talents stretched beyond the kitchen, Hinch noted. He was also a skilled illustrator and artist – including a stint as a political cartoonist for The Melbourne Herald – and an actor, having appeared in the comedy At Last … Bullamakanka: the Motion Picture with Hinch in 1983.
“He also raised peacocks, and they were some of the most amazing peacocks you’d ever see strutting around the farm down in Gippsland,” Hinch said. “He was very talented … At one stage, Peter was a United Nations Food Ambassador.”
Born in Ballarat in 1935, Russell-Clarke went on to publish at least 35 cookbooks and illustrated more than 25 books, including an Encyclopaedia of Food. His down-to-earth nature and every day, casual language made him appealing to people around the country.
Beverley Pinder, another close friend of the iconic chef, said he will be missed by generations of Australians, including kids today who learnt about him through their parents and grandparents.
“He was such an engaging character. He was a true larrikin with amazing talent … Modern-day cooking shows are all great because they’ve advanced from where he first started.”
He could take ingredients as basic as cheese and eggs and make them truly sensational, Pinder said. Not only did he cook them, he also advocated for them, having taken part in campaigns by the Victorian Egg Board and Australian Dairy Association.
“He was the epitome of the grassroots celebrity – his Bohemian style was the bridge that brought people closer to him,” she said. “I truly loved him.”
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