Café king, Bill Granger is famous for all things breakfast. At this year’s Crave Breakfast at Bondi, we catch up with the ever-smiling and self-taught chef, to grad some secret cooking tips and about his brand new cookbook, Everyday Asian.

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What do you normally eat for breakfast every day?
I am a big fan of eggs, I love a high-protein breakfast, so boiled eggs, fried eggs, eggs with breadcrumbs, scrambled eggs, any kind of egg.

You’re famous for your ricotta hotcakes, what is the difference between pancakes and hotcakes?
A hotcake is usually smaller, and a little bit higher, and we put a bit of egg white in ours to really lighten them up, they’re almost like a soufflé cake.

Which do you prefer, pancakes or hotcakes?
Oh hotcakes, always! Those ricotta hotcakes – I never get sick of them!

What is your favourite thing to grill?
Anything: fish, vegetables, meat. Being an average Australian male, I am partial to a good steak.

Your favourite Christmas recipe?
A glazed ham. I love tradition, but traditional English roast dinners are too hot for our climate. But, a glazed ham, served with lots of salads, prawns and seafood – perfect!

What’s your best tip for glazing a ham?
Take all the skin off it, score it well, and then just make a glaze with a bit of brown sugar, orange juice and mustard and pop it in the over for about half an hour, and you’ll have the perfect glazed ham

What are some of your favourite cafés around Australia?
My favourite caé in Australia? There are so many! I love Fratelli Paradiso in Potts point, Sydney, I love Café Racer in Melbourne and I love the Earth Food Store in Bondi.

What are some of the best recipes to get kids started in the kitchen?
I think kids love starting with sweet things. Pancakes are wonderful because you can teach them the basics of whisking, you can help them with cooking in the pan and kids just love eating a pancake!

You just brought out your new book, Everyday Asian, what is your favourite type of Asian cuisine?
I can’t decide, that’s why I had to put everything in! I love all Asian food. To me, it’s all about vitality, freshness, and flavour, which suits the way we live in Australia.

What’s your favourite summer dessert?
It’s just got to be mangoes. Mangoes served with ice-cream, mango tart, anything mango!