TV chef, artist and “talented rogue”, Peter Russell-Clarke, has died at the age of 89.
The host of the 1980s cooking show, Come and Get It, died peacefully on Friday with his wife of 65 years, Jan, and his two children, Peter and Wendy and their families, by his side.
His close friend Beverley Pinder said Russell-Clarke died from complications after a stroke.
“Adieu, Peter Russell-Clarke – the lovable larrikin artist and gentleman,” the PR executive and former Miss Universe Australia said in a statement. “We know him best as one of Australia’s first TV cooks. But Peter Russell-Clarke was a phenomenon – years ahead of his time.”
Born in the Great Depression, Russell-Clarke became a political cartoonist, creative director, actor, restaurateur, food ambassador for the UN and author of almost 40 recipe books, she said – in addition to his TV presenting.
“The mischievous Aussie larrikin with a full beard and eyes that twinkled found his happy place in television in the 70s and 80s,” she said.
“His lexicon, while teaching generations of Aussies how to cook, was peppered with ‘g’days’, ‘rippers’ and ‘you beauts’”, she said, adding that he often told viewers: “Whether you are cooking or painting, follow your imagination.”
According to the statement, Russell-Clarke once lived on the streets of Melbourne, foraging for discarded food behind Florentino restaurant on Bourke Street.
Pinder told Guardian Australia she had known Russell-Clarke since she was 22.
“The magic of Peter was legendary – it was magnetic,” she said. “He fascinated me. The way he engaged with people and kids, that easygoing, laconic style, making everyone feel so at ease, just won the hearts of generations of Australians.”
“That Bohemian style made people feel so easy and connected all around him. I have two paintings of his and I’ll cherish those until the day I die.”
His collaborator, the former senator, Derryn Hinch, posted on social media platform X:
“G’Day. Me ol’ mate, Peter Russell-Clarke, the Egg Man, has died. He really was a talented likable rogue.”
