Bill Granger’s very humble first job as the secrets of his success are revealed – and how he fell in love at first sight, years before he became a world-famous breakfast sensation

World-renowned Australian chef Bill Granger started his catering career as a waiter while studying at university, but he had an even more modest start to his working life.

Granger, 54, died on Christmas Day surrounded by his family after a battle with cancer.

The talented self-taught chef introduced the world to Australia's iconic casual breakfast culture.

However, his highly successful restaurant chain – accounts in Australia and Granger and Co in Britain, with 14 locations around the world – is a far cry from the father-of-two's first job as an employee at a Kmart in Melbourne. mall.

Famous Australian chef Bill Granger (pictured with his parents) passed away on Christmas Day after a battle with cancer

In a 2009 interview with food blogger Lorraine ElliottGranger revealed he was raised by his butcher father and vegetarian mother in Melbourne's south-east.

“I grew up near Mentone and then we moved to a place called Berwick, near where Kath and Kim do the series,” he said.

“That was my first job – at Kmart Fountain Gate!”

Granger's introduction to cooking came from reading cookbooks as a teenager, but it wasn't until he took a waiter job as a student that he considered becoming a chef.

“I used to cook with the Women's Weekly cookbooks and recipe cards that were in the box next to the stove,” he said.

“Then Margaret Fulton, and as I got older I got into more advanced books like Elizabeth David.

“When I was 19, I used to read them all the time and became a good home cook, which I am now. Just a good home cook.

“When I was in my second year of college I needed some money to pay my way and there was a restaurant across the street from the college and I applied for a job as a waiter.

'I became friends with the owner and cooked for her. She really liked the way I cooked, so she invited me into the kitchen to cook and it started from there.”

Granger opened his first restaurant in Sydney's Darlinghurst at the age of 23 after making the life-changing call to leave art school.

“I wouldn't use the word daunting, it was more of a challenge,” he said of opening the first rotation location.

“I had no idea how to run a business and it's still not what I'm best at. I'm very good at creative things. I was very lucky because I had a father who did all the book work.'

Ganger got his first job at Kmart in Melbourne's Fountain Lakes and became a waiter in his second year of university (pictured left in 1993)

Granger first met his partner, Natalie, at his café in Darlinghurst and within four weeks they were planning their wedding.

They soon moved in together and had three daughters: Edie, 22, Inès, 20, and Bunny, 19.

Granger has long harbored a dream of taking his avo and scrambled eggs abroad – and was already planning his blueprint to take Australian brunch global when he moved to Britain with his family in 2009.

Granger admitted at the time that there were plans to bring the winning formula to London: 'I would love to do that. That's the next dream.

'We have looked at things cautiously in recent months. I just love the food culture there. It's very exciting.'

Granger also revealed what his dream last meal would have been.

“My last meal would be with my family, so it would have to please them,” he said.

'As a butcher's son, I cannot ignore a perfect steak.

'A nice rib eye or another delicious steak, some fries, a perfectly prepared green salad with lettuce from my garden, strawberries and cream, some small chocolate truffles and a nice glass of champagne.

'Simple and clear.'

Granger (pictured with his wife and three daughters) wanted his last meal to be a steak and fries and a salad

It is understood that Granger was diagnosed with cancer several months ago.

“Bill, a devoted husband and father, died peacefully in hospital with his wife Natalie Elliott and three daughters, Edie, Inès and Bunny, at his bedside in their adopted home in London,” his family wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday.

'He will be deeply missed by everyone, with his loss felt most deeply by his beloved family, who are grateful for all the love and support given.'

The news was followed by tributes from the Australian and international culinary communities, including from British chef Jamie Oliver and former MasterChef judge Matt Preston.