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Beloved chef Bill Granger, who died peacefully of cancer at the age of 54, is credited with “perfecting” scrambled eggs and inventing the now-iconic avocado toast, and is fondly remembered as the “King of breakfast” from Australia.
Granger’s family confirmed in a statement that the father of three had died surrounded by loved ones at his London home on Christmas Day.
The Australian, who received the Medal of the Order of Australia in January, was hailed for inventing the humble avocado toast, which has since become a breakfast staple in Australia and around the world.
The Washington Post traced the “first recorded sighting” of avocado toast to the chef’s original Darlinghurst cafe bills.
Granger was forced to put the now famous breakfast snack on the menu in 1993 out of necessity after his business hours were restricted to 7am to 4pm, meaning he had to open for breakfast to pay the rent.
The chef previously admitted he felt “silly” putting the first accredited recipe for avocado on toast in a cookbook.
Bill Granger, the ‘Breakfast King’, has died peacefully at the age of 54 at his home in London.
Granger was celebrated for his relaxed approach to simple, delicious breakfasts.
Granger (left) pictured in 1993, a year after opening his first ‘bills’ cafe in Darlinghurst.
“We had been selling it in the restaurant for years and I remember thinking it was silly to put a recipe for avocado on toast in a book, so I jazzed it up and added a little lime and cilantro,” he said. saying.
Granger has been described as “Sydney’s egg master” by the New York Times and is credited with making scrambled eggs “sexy.”
Its Darlinghurst cafe is famous for having “perfected” scrambled eggs that one food critic described as “light as an angel’s breath.”
Granger’s secret to making the best scrambled eggs is to use free-range eggs and lots of cream, which can be substituted with skim milk to make them fluffy.
“Eggs are ubiquitous, a basic ingredient,” he told Sunday Life magazine in 2002.
“I’m glad I raised his profile.”
“He will be deeply missed by all, and his loss will be deeply felt by his loving family, who are grateful for all the love and support they have given him,” they said.
The celebrity chef is survived by his wife, documentary producer Natalie Elliott, and three daughters, Edie, Inès and Bunny.
Melbourne-born Granger was a self-taught chef who became a celebrated restaurateur and global food writer with a career spanning more than 30 years.
The chef opened his first restaurant, Bills, in Darlinghurst, in Sydney’s inner suburbs, in 1992, when he was 21 and had dropped out of his art studies.
Granger will be remembered for his unpretentious food and for spurring the growth of informal and community eating in Australia after he was inspired by the Japanese.
‘It’s in the Australian attitude to life. “People are interested in health: they want to get up early, go surfing and eat healthy, and since the climate is so mild, they want to eat fresh food,” says the chef.
Granger (pictured at a book signing) has been described as “Sydney’s egg master”.
The Washington Post traced the first “recorded sighting” of avocado on toast to Granger’s first cafe in Darlinghurst (notes shown)
In an interview with food blogger Lorraine Elliott, Granger revealed that her father was a butcher while her mother was a vegetarian.
His focus on family and sitting together at meals was fueled by many nights spent eating alone without his father, who worked late.
‘Dinner is a very important time to sit down, relax and talk about your day. Especially when everyone has such disparate days between school and work, those moments of shared experience are fantastic,” she stated.
Granger also revealed that her first job was at Kmart Fountain Gate, where the iconic Australian comedy Kath and Kim was filmed.
He left studying architecture at RMIT in Melbourne to move to Sydney, where he says he was immediately “seduced” by the beautiful city.
Granger then made the life-changing decision to move from art to food.
“When I was in my second year of college I needed some money to pay my expenses and there was a restaurant across the street and I applied for a job as a waiter,” he said.
“So I became friends with the owner and cooked for her and she really liked the way I cooked so she invited me to cook in the kitchen and it all started from there.”
The self-taught chef said he learned to cook from Women’s Weekly cookbooks and recipe cards kept in a box next to the stove in his family’s home.
“Then Margaret Fulton, but as I got older I started reading more sophisticated books like Elizabeth David. When I was 19 I always read them and became a good home cook, which is what I am now. Just a good home cook,’ she said.
Granger’s relaxed approach to breakfast has been praised by acclaimed chefs like Jaime Oliver, as well as celebrities like Cate Blanchett and Baz Luhrmann (pictured in 2015).
Granger said that despite his fame on television and with his cookbooks, he preferred to make his customers happy in his restaurants.
“I like nothing more than seeing people be really happy with food, get excited and have good coffee,” he said.
“Food is an incredible way to communicate with people.”
The restaurant owner also shared what he would like his last meal to be.
‘A perfect steak, being a butcher’s son, I can’t escape that: a beautiful rib eye or any other delicious steak; some fries; a green salad perfectly dressed with lettuce from my garden; strawberries and cream, some chocolate truffles and a good glass of champagne. Simple and direct,” he stated.
As the bills approached their 20th anniversary, Granger said she hoped to have another 20 years ahead of her making scrambled eggs and ricotta pancakes.
‘That joy factor of food is often overlooked, even in reviews. Food should be synonymous with joy, they are the flowers of life,” she stated.
Its relaxed approach to breakfast has been praised by acclaimed chefs like Jaime Oliver, as well as celebrities like Cate Blanchett and Baz Luhrmann.
Granger is the author of 14 cookbooks, made five television series and, most recently, was honored with the Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2023.
Tributes to Granger poured in on Wednesday from other celebrity chefs, including Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, as well as Australian actor Hugh Jackman.
Granger was a self-taught chef who became a celebrated global restaurateur (pictured, invoices)
‘I am heartbroken to hear this. Very cruel. My deepest love to N, E, I and B,” Nigella wrote.
Oliver, 47, wrote that he was “devastated” by the news of Granger’s death and described the chef as a “wonderful human” whose food was “so good.”
‘This is devastating news, it makes me so sad to hear this, what a guy he was…. “A wonderful, kind, calm human soul,” Jamie wrote.
‘I admired everything he represented in food. I remember the first time I met him many moons ago. They couldn’t have been nicer and their food so good.
‘Sending a lot of love to his entire family. Rest in peace Bill, you will be greatly missed.
“We are devastated to hear the news of Bill’s passing,” Jackman wrote.
‘His talent, his joie de vivre, the way he brought people together and his commitment to his family were inspiring. What we will miss most will be her friendship.”
Sydney chef and Netflix star Mark Best also shared a touching tribute to Granger and his family, describing him as a “beautiful man who leaves behind a beautiful family.”
Swazi-English actor Richard E Grant was left speechless and chose to share a series of broken heart emojis in response to the shocking announcement.
Granger has four cafes in Sydney in Bondi Beach, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and Double Bay and 19 around the world in places including London, Hawaii and Korea.
Since then, avocado on toast has remained a staple within their cafe empire and has grown to become the defining breakfast of a generation.