A 'pioneer' and a 'bloody great guy': Australian chef Bill Granger dead at 54

Granger died at a hospital in his "adopted home" of London with his wife and three daughters by his bedside.

Bill Granger has died at the age of 54, his family have confirmed. Credit: Supplied

Key Points

• Australian restaurateur, cook and food writer Bill Granger has died in hospital in London, aged 54.
• Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Adam Liaw and Matt Preston are among those who have shared tributes.
• Granger was born in Melbourne and opened his first Bills restaurant in Sydney in 1993.

Australian chef and restaurateur Bill Granger has died at the age of 54 in a London hospital surrounded by his family.

Melbourne-born Granger passed away peacefully on Christmas Day, his family confirmed in a statement on Instagram early Wednesday morning.

Granger, "a dedicated husband and father", leaves behind his wife Natalie Elliott and three daughters, Edie, Inès and Bunny. All were at his bedside.

"It is with great sadness that the family of Bill Granger announce he has passed away on 25th December at the age of 54," 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 remembered by international food world

Tributes are flowing from the international food world, including chefs Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson.

"He was such a wonderful man, warm, charming, and had an extraordinary ease and style in cooking that could only come from Australia," Oliver posted on Instagram.

"I'm heartbroken to hear this. So cruel," Lawson said.

Others who paid tribute to Granger included cook and TV host Adam Liaw, who described him as "arguably [the] most influential pioneer of modern Australian food".

"His 'sunny' (his word, not mine) codification of Australian cafe culture at bills is the model on which every Australian cafe around the world is now built. Bloody great guy, too."

Former MasterChef Australia present Matt Preston called Granger a "genuinely lovely bloke" and an "inspiration", and said he and Elliott had "helped shape the image of modern Australian food around the world".

Australian actor Hugh Jackman and his former partner Deborra-Lee Furness said they would miss Granger's friendship "most of all".

"His talent, his joie de vivre, the way he brought people together and his commitment to family were inspiring," they said in a joint statement.

After opening his first Bills restaurant in Darlinghurst in 1993, Granger and his wife Natalie Elliott went on to open 19 establishments globally. Source: AAP / Chris Terry

Known as Australia's breakfast king, Granger was a self-taught cook who became a celebrated global restaurateur and food writer over his three-decade career.

He opened his first restaurant, Bills, in 1993, in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

Granger was handed a Medal of the Order of Australia in January for service to the tourism and hospitality sector.

At the time Granger said hospitality wasn't the easiest business "but I can't think of many other jobs where the job is just to bring a bit of happiness and sunshine into people's lives", in a social media post.

Granger and his wife built a successful business that has grown to 19 restaurants globally, including Sydney, London, Tokyo and Seoul.

He wrote 14 cookbooks and created five television series.