{{Short description|Australian celebrity chef (1969–2023)}} {{for|the author and former newspaper columnist|Bill Granger (author)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}} {{Infobox chef | name = Bill Granger | honorific_suffix = OAM | image = Bill Granger at Hereford Road Party.JPG | caption = Granger in 2010 | imagesize = | birth_name = William Granger | birth_date = {{Birth date|1969|8|29|df=y}} | birth_place = Mentone, Victoria, Australia | death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|12|25|1969|8|29|df=y}} | death_place = London, England | spouse= Natalie Elliot | restaurants = Australia: bills Darlinghurst, bills Surry Hills, bills Bondi, bills Double Bay <br> Japan: bills Shichirigahama, bills Yokohama, bills Odaiba, bills Omotesando, bills Futakotamagawa, bills Fukuoka, bills Ginza, bills Osaka <br> South Korea: bills Jamsil, bills Gangnam <br> United States: bills Hawaii <br> United Kingdom: Granger & Co Chelsea, Granger & Co Clerkenwell, Granger & Co King's Cross, Granger & Co Notting Hill | website = {{url|bills.com.au}} }}
'''William Granger''' {{post-nominals|country=AUS|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.
==Career== In the late 1980s, Granger relocated from Melbourne to Sydney to study visual art.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/bill_granger.html BBC Food Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925051923/http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/bill_granger.html |date=25 September 2015 }} – Chef Profile{{dl|date=December 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/search/?q=bill+granger&page=1 Good Food Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055658/http://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/search/?q=bill+granger&page=1 |date=4 March 2016 }} – Chef Profile{{dl|date=December 2023}}</ref> Bills in Sydney is credited as the first restaurant to serve avocado toast, in 1993.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/dining/australian-breakfast.html|title=The Art of the Australian Breakfast|last=Moskin|first=Julia|date=24 July 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=29 December 2023|archive-date=28 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228235447/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/24/dining/australian-breakfast.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Orenstein|first1=Jayne|title=How the Internet became ridiculously obsessed with avocado toast|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/06/how-the-internet-became-ridiculously-obsessed-with-avocado-toast/|url-status=live|access-date=1 March 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160507131230/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/05/06/how-the-internet-became-ridiculously-obsessed-with-avocado-toast/ |archive-date=7 May 2016 }}</ref>
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.<ref name="afr-tokyo-25-jun-18">{{cite news |last1=Lester |first1=Amelia |url=https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/apollo-longrain-fratelli-paradiso-among-australian-eateries-pushing-into-tokyo-20180515-h103ir |title=Apollo, Longrain, Fratelli Paradiso among Australian eateries pushing into Tokyo |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Australian Financial Review |publisher=Nine Entertainment Co. Pty Ltd |date=25 June 2018 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227035436/https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/apollo-longrain-fratelli-paradiso-among-australian-eateries-pushing-into-tokyo-20180515-h103ir |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2011, Granger opened his first UK restaurant, Granger & Co, in London's Westbourne Grove.<ref name="eve-standard-stay-10-apr-12">{{cite news |title=Bill Granger: the Aussie who came to stay |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/bill-granger-the-aussie-who-came-to-stay-6369082.html |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Evening Standard |date=10 April 2012 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227033516/https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/bill-granger-the-aussie-who-came-to-stay-6369082.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In the spring of 2014, Granger opened a second London-based Granger & Co in Clerkenwell.<ref name="sqmeal-g&co-clerkenwell">{{cite web |title=Granger & Co Clerkenwell, London – Restaurant Review, Menu, Opening Times |url=https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/granger-co-clerkenwell_8647 |website=www.squaremeal.co.uk |access-date=27 December 2023 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227033516/https://www.squaremeal.co.uk/restaurants/granger-co-clerkenwell_8647 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.justopenedlondon.com/granger-and-co/ |title=Granger and Co. Clerkenwell |website=Just Opened London |access-date=7 July 2016 |archive-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817181535/http://www.justopenedlondon.com/granger-and-co/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and a new Bills restaurant in Hawaii.<ref name="gourmet-travel-hawaii">{{cite web |last1=Hill |first1=Kendall |title=Lei lines |url=http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2013/9/why-australians-are-flocking-to-hawaii |website=Gourmet Traveller |publisher=Are Media Pty Limited |access-date=27 December 2023 |language=en |date=3 September 2013 |url-status=live |archive-date=20 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220031713/http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/travel/travel-news-features/2013/9/why-australians-are-flocking-to-hawaii/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Opening-Soon-Bills-Sydney-in-Waikiki/ |last=Cheng |first=Martha |date=28 March 2014 |title=Opening Soon: Bills Sydney in Waikiki |work=Honolulu Magazine |access-date=7 July 2016 |archive-date=16 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816153404/http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Opening-Soon-Bills-Sydney-in-Waikiki/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In that same year, he also opened his first restaurant in Seoul, and had two restaurants in the country.<ref name=standard-seoul>{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Victoria |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/foodanddrink/bill-granger-on-his-favourite-foodie-haunts-in-seoul-in-south-korea-a3281756.html |title=Bill Granger on his favourite foodie haunts in Seoul |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Evening Standard |date=27 June 2016 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227033516/https://www.standard.co.uk/going-out/foodanddrink/bill-granger-on-his-favourite-foodie-haunts-in-seoul-in-south-korea-a3281756.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Books=== Granger 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=== In 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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Idato |first1=Michael |title=Bill Granger defied the rules of TV cooking shows to make fine food accessible |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/bill-granger-defied-the-rules-of-tv-cooking-shows-to-make-fine-food-accessible-20231227-p5ets1.html |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |date=27 December 2023 |access-date=1 January 2024 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228073827/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/bill-granger-defied-the-rules-of-tv-cooking-shows-to-make-fine-food-accessible-20231227-p5ets1.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Granger was featured on a fortnightly segment on ABC Radio 702 with Richard Glover. Each week he discussed a recipe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 October 2006 |title=Poached eggs |url=https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/poached-eggs/8925442 |access-date=30 December 2023 |website=ABC Everyday |language=en-AU |archive-date=30 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230045532/https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/poached-eggs/8925442 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In 2011, Bill Granger became ''The Independent'' on Sunday's weekly food columnist.<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/search/simple.do?destinationSectionUniqueName=search&publicationName=ind&pageLength=5&startDay=1&startMonth=1&startYear=2010&useSectionFilter=true&useHideArticle=true&searchString=byline_text:(%22Bill%20Granger%22)&displaySearchString=Bill%20Granger The Independent]{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/worldwide/061212channels.html |title=BBC Entertainment |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925075506/http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/worldwide/061212channels.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Personal life and death== Granger was born on 29 August 1969 in Mentone, Victoria,<ref name="Guardian-Obit">{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=Bee |title=Bill Granger obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/31/bill-granger-obituary |access-date=31 December 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=31 December 2023 |archive-date=31 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231231121901/https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/dec/31/bill-granger-obituary |url-status=live }}</ref> to a vegetarian mother and a father who worked as a butcher.<ref name="irishtimes-23-may-2009">{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/bring-it-on-bill-1.769296 |title=Bring it on, Bill |newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=27 December 2023 |date=23 May 2009 |last1=Digby |first1=Marie-Claire |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227003149/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/bring-it-on-bill-1.769296 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20574921-5006002,00.html Bill's beach wedding] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080313013657/http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,20574921-5006002,00.html |date=13 March 2008 }} – The Daily Telegraph, 14 October 2006</ref> He was married and had three daughters with his wife Natalie Elliot.<ref name="sbs-family-27-dec-23">{{cite news |title=A 'pioneer' and a 'bloody great guy': Australian chef Bill Granger dead at 54 |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/a-pioneer-and-a-bloody-great-guy-australian-chef-bill-granger-dead-at-54/fjfkruhmq |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=SBS News |agency=AAP, SBS |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service (Australia) |date=27 December 2023 |language=en |archive-date=27 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227003120/https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/a-pioneer-and-a-bloody-great-guy-australian-chef-bill-granger-dead-at-54/fjfkruhmq |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 26 December 2023, Granger's family announced that he had died on Christmas Day at a London hospital, at age 54.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 December 2023 |title=Instagram post from billsaustralia |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/C1U9WoYrGLq/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== }}</ref> He died from cancer after having been diagnosed many months previously.<ref name="smh-cause-27-dec-23">{{cite news |last1=McGinniss |first1=Andrea |last2=Bernoth |first2=Ardyn |title=Australian food writer and restaurateur Bill Granger has died aged 54 |url=https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/eating-out/australian-food-writer-and-restaurateur-bill-granger-has-died-aged-54-20231227-p5etre.html |access-date=27 December 2023 |work=Good Food |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=27 December 2023 |language=en |archive-date=26 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226224927/https://www.smh.com.au/goodfood/eating-out/australian-food-writer-and-restaurateur-bill-granger-has-died-aged-54-20231227-p5etre.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Bill Granger, Australian chef dubbed the 'King of Breakfast', dies aged 54 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/bill-granger-australian-chef-dubbed-the-king-of-breakfast-dies-aged-54-v7h5rp6gp |access-date=28 December 2023 |work=The Times |date=28 December 2023 |archive-date=28 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228004141/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bill-granger-australian-chef-dubbed-the-king-of-breakfast-dies-aged-54-v7h5rp6gp |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Recognition== In the 2023 Australia Day Honours, Granger was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service to the tourism and hospitality sector".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2012743|title=Mr William Granger, OAM|publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|access-date=27 December 2023|archive-date=27 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227022812/https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2012743|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Bibliography== *''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}} *''Bill’s Italian Food'' (Collins, 2014) {{ISBN|978-0-00-750700-9}} *''Australian Food'' (Murdoch Books, 2020) {{ISBN|978-1911632962}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Instagram|bill.granger}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20070517024624/http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/shows/show.asp?id=24 Bill's Food] on LifeStyle Food
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Granger, Bill}} Category:1969 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Australian television chefs Category:Australian cookbook writers Category:People educated at Mentone Grammar School Category:People from Melbourne Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Category:Deaths from cancer in England