Bill Granger: 'I predict a regional town explosion, with great, creative restaurants'

Adapting to the cultures of a country 9,500 miles from home would be challenging for any new arrival. Even if you speak the same language, there are some habits which are hard to translate. For Australian chef Bill Granger, it was the mealtimes that troubled him most.

“When I first came to London, people would have dinner parties from 8pm and we wouldn’t eat the first course until 10,” recalls the easy-going restaurateur and cookbook writer, who lives in the capital with his wife, Natalie Elliott, and their three daughters. “By that point I was ready for bed!”

But the smiley 51-year-old, whose sunny disposition has shaped his laidback, unceremonious style of cooking, believes things are changing. Optimistically citing the few unexpected upsides of the pandemic, he claims Brits are falling more into line with “the land of the five o’clock barbecue”.

“Australians like to socialise early,” he says. “Barbecues are great because you can be involved in the food and you don’t need to be overly formal.

“Another thing in the UK that shocked me was how planned and organised everyone was, putting dates in a diary. In Australia there’s a spontaneity and casualness about the way we eat.”

While based in the UK, Granger is busy getting his four London Granger & Co restaurants back on their feet. Unwaveringly upbeat, he insists they weren’t too badly affected by long closures. Besides he’s just relieved “to have everyone back”.

“More people are coming in for breakfast; they’re getting up earlier and looking after themselves,” he beams – although coming from the man who introduced the world to smashed avocado on toast, that doesn’t seem too surprising.

Still, he knows there’s a long way to go.

“Sometimes you worry it’s going to stop again, and it can feel like every meal is the last,” he admits. “We enjoy the moment and we’re thankful for what we have.”

Sociable – even with strangers – Granger confesses one of the hardest parts of Covid-19 has been trying to see friends and maintain relationships. It’s the communities he’s missed most – both in the UK and his native Australia.

Back in March 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, he managed to go back home to Sydney, the city where he opened his first café, Bills, aged only 22.

“We rented a house in Glebe close to Chinatown and Thai Town. It was fantastic – like being somewhere else completely. And we stayed with friends close to Byron Bay, where my girls were hoping to see Chris Hemsworth every time we went exercising on the beach.”

Those first few months were spent living in a blissful bubble.

“At first it was strange; like it wasn’t happening,” he recalls. “Australians are really good at following rules – very different to Europeans and Americans – and they’ve got Covid-19 under control. It’s a safe place and fun. People are very happy. That’s what I love about it.”

Even though Australia has weathered the pandemic storm relatively well, like the rest of the world it will never be the same. For a country that’s made socialising an art form, spending time apart must surely have dampened the national spirit?

“I was worried things would change but it’s interesting how quickly they go back,” says Granger, who recently opened a new branch of Bills in Sydney district Double Bay. “I've been really surprised by how much people love going to the restaurants in their community. Australians are big foodies. It’s a huge part of our identity and culture. Everyone’s just happy to be ‘there’.”

In fact, a shift to the suburbs is one of the big changes Granger predicts for the future, as the glossy lure of cities diminishes, and residents seek a slower, cheaper way of life further afield.

“There’ll be a regional town explosion,” he says, confidently. “Then you’ll see people creating their own industries – like what’s happened in Byron Bay. Great restaurants and good cafés will be supported by creative communities.”

Australians have always championed artisan producers, with the variety of homegrown ingredients laying foundations for renowned food festivals such as Margaret River’s Gourmet Escape. This has attracted big names like Heston Blumenthal who once described the country as his favourite dining destination.

Provenance has been brought into even sharper focus by the pandemic, insists Granger.

“Instagram has been brilliant for connecting people,” he says. “Suppliers selling directly to people has been a really big thing. Knowing their food and where it's from is becoming more and more important.

“Australians love lots of wonderful flavours and freshness with food. The produce is all grown in the country and very little is imported. It’s not been flown across different hemispheres. It’s all local.”

Following the government’s announcement borders would largely remain closed until mid-2022, characteristically intrepid Australians will have time to develop an even greater appreciation for what’s on their doorstep.

But for a nation founded on wanderlust, being grounded can’t be easy. Even Granger admits taking regular trips to the airport in his younger days, purely to dream about travel.

“When I was 17, I would go there with friends for a drink just to feel that anticipation of going somewhere,” he laughs.

On his last trip back to Australia, however, he took the opportunity to explore more of his homeland.

“We flew up to the Northern Territory and it was incredible, just seeing all that space. The air and the light made it feel like another planet. When you live in a country like the UK, that’s so exciting to see.”

Food memories also stir bouts of homesickness. Granger fondly describes eating mud crabs north of Broome, buying fresh bread from the Four and Stone bakery in Woolloomooloo, and taking trips through the winelands of the Yarra Valley.

In the current climate, though, it’s Australia’s “wildness” he finds most attractive – along with “the safety, the space”.

Waiting another year to visit might feel like an eternity, but ever-optimistic Granger prefers to look on the bright side.

“Now we're not going on holiday as much, that idea of a special trip will feel exciting,” he ponders. “Travel might get a bit more special now.”

Australian Food by Bill Granger, published by Murdoch Books, is out now, priced £20