How to make Bill Granger’s original (and best) avocado toast

Avocado toast was Bill Granger’s legacy to the world. Here’s the simple but sensational recipe that will live on forever.

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Bill Granger may not have been the first person in the world to put avocado on toast. But according to food writer and Good Food columnist Jill Dupleix, he was the first to recognise the beauty and simplicity of the now ubiquitous combination and put it on a menu.

“If that means he invented it, well then he did. And then he took avocado toast to the world,” Dupleix said.

It was on the menu at his first cafe in Darlinghurst, the airy, sunny, communal table-dominated space that he opened in 1993.

Avo toast is still going strong at the original bills in Darlinghurst. Edwina Pickles

“Bill was all about freshness and health. He used to get up early and go to the market to get the food daily, there was no coolroom in the original bills,” said Dupleix.

“And avocado toast was a hit right from the start. Recently, he came to accept that avocado toast was his legacy to the world,” she said.

Another huge legacy, as well as the 19 restaurants, is his first cookbook, Sydney Food, published in 2000.

“This book held up a mirror to Sydney, and it changed the way we felt about Australian food,” Dupleix said.

As well as well-lit photos of delicious, approachable-looking food on white crockery, the book is full of images of the Icebergs pool Bondi, the Sydney Fish Market and shoppers strolling at the Good Food Farmer’s market.

“It showed Sydneysiders who we were. And was even strong enough to cross the interstate rivalry because people in Melbourne loved the reflection that shone from its pages and were proud of it too,” she said.

Here is the original recipe for Bill Granger’s original avocado toast recipe from Sydney Food.

Bill Granger’s avocado on toast.Jonathan GregsonBill Granger’s avocado toast with lime, pepper and coriander

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