William Granger OAM (29 August 1969 – 25 December 2023) was an Australian self-taught cook, restaurateur and food writer. Based in Australia and London, he worked internationally.
Bill Granger | |
|---|---|
 Granger in 2010 | |
| Born | William Granger 29 August 1969 Mentone, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 25 December 2023 (aged 54) London, England |
| Spouse | Natalie Elliot |
| Culinary career | |
Current restaurant(s)
| |
| Website | bills |
Career
editIn the late 1980s, Granger relocated from Melbourne to Sydney to study visual art.[1] He worked as a waiter while he studied art. His interest moved from art to food. In 1993, he opened a restaurant called Bills in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst. Breakfast, and, more specifically, creamy scrambled eggs, brought Granger to the public's attention. A second restaurant, Bills Surry Hills, opened in 1996. Bills Woollahra was his third restaurant.[2] Bills in Sydney is credited as the first restaurant to serve avocado toast, in 1993.[3][4]
In 2008, he opened the first Bills restaurant outside Australia in Japan, where he had lived for half a year. Since then, he has opened eight restaurants in Japan, in regions such as Tokyo, Yokohama, Kamakura, Fukuoka and Osaka.[5]
In 2011, Granger opened his first UK restaurant, Granger & Co, in London's Westbourne Grove.[6] In the spring of 2014, Granger opened a second London-based Granger & Co in Clerkenwell.[7][8] and a new Bills restaurant in Hawaii.[9][10] In that same year, he also opened his first restaurant in Seoul, and had two restaurants in the country.[11]
Books
editGranger wrote Bill's Sydney Food (Murdoch Books, 2000) which included information about the food in his restaurants. Culinary landscape with 14 cookbooks. That book was followed by Bill's Food (2002), Bill's Open Kitchen (2003), Simply Bill (2005), Bill Granger Every Day (2006), Holiday (2009), Bill's Basics (2010), Bill's Everyday Asian (2011), Bill Granger Easy (2012), Bill's Italian Food (2014) and Australian Food (2020).
Media work
editIn 2004, the six-part series, Bill's Food, followed Granger for a week. It was well received in Australia and subsequently screened on BBC2 in the United Kingdom in 2005, drawing an audience of 2 million. The series was repeated on BBC1 and was shown in 22 other countries. In June 2006, Granger appeared on GMTV to present a week-long barbecue special filmed in the South of France. A second series of Bill's Food was aired on various networks. In 2009 a seven-part television series, Bill's Holiday, was released featuring Granger's travels exploring the varying regions and produce of Australia.[12]
Granger was featured on a fortnightly segment on ABC Radio 702 with Richard Glover. Each week he discussed a recipe.[13]
In 2011, Bill Granger became The Independent on Sunday's weekly food columnist.[14]
A ten-part television series bringing Granger's food to West London, Bill's Kitchen: Notting Hill, aired from June 2013 on BBC Lifestyle in Poland, South Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and the Nordic Region; on BBC HD in EMEA and LatAm; and on BBC Entertainment in Latin America.[15]
Personal life and death
editGranger was born on 29 August 1969 in Mentone, Victoria,[16] to a vegetarian mother and a father who worked as a butcher.[17][18] He was married and had three daughters with his wife Natalie Elliot.[19]
On 26 December 2023, Granger's family announced that he had died on Christmas Day at a London hospital, at age 54.[20] He died from cancer after having been diagnosed many months previously.[21][22]
Recognition
editIn the 2023 Australia Day Honours, Granger was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to the tourism and hospitality sector".[23]
Bibliography
edit- Sydney Food (Murdoch Books, 2000) ISBN 0864119917
- Bills Food (Murdoch Books, 2002) ISBN 978-1740450850
- Open Kitchen (Murdoch Books, 2003) ISBN 978-1740452267
- Simply Bill (Murdoch Books, 2005) ISBN 1-74045-363-8
- Everyday (Murdoch Books, 2006) ISBN 1921259744
- Holiday (Murdoch Books, 2009) ISBN 978-1741965025
- Feed Me Now (Quadrille, 2009) ISBN 978-1-84400-706-6
- Bill's Basics (Quadrille, 2010) ISBN 978-1-84400-843-8
- Bill's Everyday Asian (Quadrille, 2011) ISBN 978-1-84400-978-7
- Bill Granger Easy (Collins, 2012) ISBN 978-0007478224
- Australian Food (Murdoch Books, 2020) ISBN 978-1911632962
References
edit- ^ BBC Food Profile Archived 25 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine – Chef Profile[dead link]
- ^ Good Food Profile Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine – Chef Profile[dead link]
- ^ Moskin, Julia (24 July 2018). "The Art of the Australian Breakfast". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ Orenstein, Jayne. "How the Internet became ridiculously obsessed with avocado toast". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
- ^ Lester, Amelia (25 June 2018). "Apollo, Longrain, Fratelli Paradiso among Australian eateries pushing into Tokyo". Australian Financial Review. Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Bill Granger: the Aussie who came to stay". Evening Standard. 10 April 2012. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Granger & Co Clerkenwell, London – Restaurant Review, Menu, Opening Times". www.squaremeal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Granger and Co. Clerkenwell". Just Opened London. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Hill, Kendall (3 September 2013). "Lei lines". Gourmet Traveller. Are Media Pty Limited. Archived from the original on 20 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Cheng, Martha (28 March 2014). "Opening Soon: Bills Sydney in Waikiki". Honolulu Magazine. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ Stewart, Victoria (27 June 2016). "Bill Granger on his favourite foodie haunts in Seoul". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Idato, Michael (27 December 2023). "Bill Granger defied the rules of TV cooking shows to make fine food accessible". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
- ^ "Poached eggs". ABC Everyday. 4 October 2006. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
- ^ The Independent[dead link]
- ^ "BBC Entertainment". Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
- ^ Wilson, Bee (31 December 2023). "Bill Granger obituary". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Digby, Marie-Claire (23 May 2009). "Bring it on, Bill". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Bill's beach wedding Archived 13 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine – The Daily Telegraph, 14 October 2006
- ^ "A 'pioneer' and a 'bloody great guy': Australian chef Bill Granger dead at 54". SBS News. Special Broadcasting Service (Australia). AAP, SBS. 27 December 2023. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Instagram post from billsaustralia". 27 December 2023.
- ^ McGinniss, Andrea; Bernoth, Ardyn (27 December 2023). "Australian food writer and restaurateur Bill Granger has died aged 54". Good Food. Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 26 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ "Bill Granger, Australian chef dubbed the 'King of Breakfast', dies aged 54". The Times. 28 December 2023. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Mr William Granger, OAM". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Archived from the original on 27 December 2023. Retrieved 27 December 2023.