Bill Granger, Australian chef who brought avocado toast to the world, dies at 54

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bill Granger, the Australian chef, food writer and restaurant owner who brought Aussie-style food to international capitals from London to Seoul, has died. He was 54.

Granger's family said on social media Tuesday that the chef died in a hospital in London on Christmas Day.

"A dedicated husband and father, Bill died peacefully in hospital with his wife Natalie Elliott and three daughters, Edie, Ins and Bunny, at his bedside in their adopted home of London," the family statement said. It gave no further details.

Born in 1969 in Melbourne, Australia, Granger was a self-taught cook who launched a chef's career over three decades after dropping out of art school. He opened his first restaurant in 1993 in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst, where he soon became known for his breakfasts served at a central communal table.