Legendary TV Chef Peter Russell-Clarke Dies at 89

Australia’s first celebrity chef, Peter Russell-Clarke, has died. He was 89.

Russell-Clarke, known for his ABC cooking series Come and Get It, was one of the country’s most recognizable stars. His family shared that he passed away on Thursday, July 3, following complications from a stroke.

“He passed away peacefully in his sleep. In the end it was quite a release for the family that he wasn’t suffering anymore,” his son, Peter Russell-Clarke Jr, told ABC.

He began his career at age 14 at an Australian ad agency, as a junior artist. Soon, he became a freelance cartoonist and food writer for several popular magazines, before eventually producing several cookbooks.

He shot to worldwide fame after the creation of Come and Get It in the 80s, which featured his trademark “g’day” catchphrase and commonly-worn neckerchief.

“I realised that the bloke in front of the camera got more applause than the person who wrote it,” he told ABC in 2017. “So I wrote myself into the series and I became known as a cook rather than a painter or a writer.”

The internet at large poured out plenty of tributes for the chef as the news broke.

Most notably, journalist Derryn Hinch, who appeared with Russell-Clarke in the 1983 film At Last… Bullamakanka, shared his condolences on Twitter/X.

“G’Day. Me ol’ mate, Peter Russell-Clarke, the Egg Man, has died. He really was a talented likable rogue,” Hinch wrote.

G’Day. Me ol’ mate, Peter Russell-Clarke, the Egg Man, has died. He really was a talented likeable rogue.

— Derryn Hinch (@HumanHeadline) July 6, 2025

Russell-Clarke is survived by his wife, Jan, his two children, and three grandchildren.