Bill Granger: The cruel irony of the death of a humble genius as Australian chef dies aged 54

Bill Granger, the chef with the youthful good looks and perennially sunny disposition, was cut down aged 54 with so much still to give.

Chef Bill Granger, who took the Aussie breakfast to the world, has died, aged 54, after a battle of cancer. Picture: Con Poulos

Perhaps the cruellest irony of Bill Granger’s death was that the chef with the youthful good looks and perennially sunny disposition was cut down so young and with so much still to give. At 54, Granger died in a London hospital on Christmas Day, supported by his wife, Natalie Elliott, and their three daughters, Edie, Inès and Bunny. Friends said the Melbourne-born Granger had been quietly battling cancer for about a year.

“Bill was a very private man,” said his friend, colleague and fellow Bondi identity Maurice Terzini, reflecting the widespread community shock and sadness at Granger’s passing. “When I heard the news this morning I was like, ‘You’re f...ing kidding me. No f...ing way’.”

On his Instagram page, Granger’s family announced the Melbourne-born self-taught cook had died surrounded by love.

“He will be remembered as the ‘King of Breakfast’, for making unpretentious food into something special filled with sunshine and for spurring the growth of Australian informal and communal eating around the world,” the post said. “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.”

Granger at Bondi Beach.

There was a global outpouring of grief for the cook who died leaving 19 restaurants and cafes sprinkled around the world, as well as a publishing and television back catalogue that had made him a household name not only in Australia but in Japan, and the UK, where he had lived for more than a decade.

“This is devastating news, I’m so sad to hear this, what a guy he was,” chef Jamie Oliver replied to the news. “A wonderful human, kind, calm soul. I admired everything he represented in food.” Nigella Lawson, meanwhile, added: “I’m heartbroken to hear this. So cruel.” Even Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow was moved to comment, describing the loss as “so heartbreaking”.

“It’s so sad, he was too young to die,” his friend Neil Perry told The Australian. “He leaves an incredible legacy, not only of three beautiful children and his wife and a great family, but 19 restaurants around the world.”

Born in Melbourne on August 29, 1969, Granger relocated from Melbourne to Sydney in the 1990s to study art. While working as a waiter, he gained an interest in food, opening his seminal Sydney cafe, bills, in inner-city Darlinghurst in 1993. The Liverpool Street cafe remains open to this day.

The Australian chef was widely known as the breakfast king.

Bills proved a game changer in the fickle world of Sydney food, with Granger’s signature cream-enriched scrambled eggs and ricotta hotcakes becoming noted dishes of the Sydney culinary playbook.

Further cafes opened, and Granger found widespread fame via a plethora of cookbooks including, in 2000, the hugely successful Bill’s Sydney Food, which proved a culinary bible for home cooks interested in replicating Granger’s no-fuss flavour-forward dishes. His 12 cookbooks went on to sell more than a combined 1 million copies. He also appeared in several television cooking series including, in 2004, Bill’s Food.

In 2008, Granger saw an opportunity to take Australian brunch culture to the world, opening outlets in Japan and Korea, and in 2011, in London, where his Granger & Co introduced quality scrambled eggs and avocado toast to a market more accustomed to bacon butties and lukewarm tea.

“The wonderful thing about Bill was his simple approach to really great ingredients,” Perry said. “He would take a few ingredients and make them delicious. He was just about what Australian food is: fresh, beautiful, simple. He took avocado and great bread and made avocado-toast an icon.”

Granger and wife Natalie with their children Bunny, Ines and Edie.

Friends recalled a talented creative who understood not only good food but the importance of making people feel good.

“Bill loved art, architecture, design and how design worked in a space,” said Terzini. “For Bill a space had to represent who you were on a professional level. He was so Sydney, such a representative of Sydney. He was one of the first Australians to go out there and take the IP of being Australian to the world.”

Stylist and Granger collaborator Steve Cordony said bills cafes felt like home to many Australians.

“Walking into bills is like walking into a uniquely familiar space. It’s never just about the food, which makes you feel instantly comforted. It feels like you are at a friend’s home, a home that embodies the essence of Australian design and culture. Bill was Australia’s pioneer of emotionally responsive design and created restaurants that embodied the quintessential Australian style, not just on home soil but globally.”

Perhaps the saddest response to the news was from Granger’s daughter Inès, who replied to the instagram announcement with: “love you dadda.”

At the time of his death, Granger had cafes in Sydney, in Darlinghurst, Bondi, Surry Hills and Double Bay, five Granger & Co operations in London, from Notting Hill to Chelsea, and cafes across Japan and South Korea. Each of the cafes’ websites featured imagery of his beloved Bondi Beach.