International Obituary

Peter Russell-Clarke — RIP

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Alan Gardner Published: July 15, 2025 Updated: July 15, 2025 1 minute 0 comments

Australian chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, illustrator, artist, cartoonist, TV presenter, and media personality Peter Russell Clarke passed away on July 4. He was 89.

From the 1950’s into the 1970’s he wrote articles and drew political cartoons for the Melbourne Herald. He was also one of five cartoonists to have worked on the legacy comic strip Ben Bowyang before it ceased publication in 1979. During the 1970’s he wrote and illustrated a cooking page for the Melbourne Sunday Observer.

But it was his “five-minute cookery show” Come and Get It that brought him the most fame. He produced over 900 episodes over nine years. During this time he wrote more than 35 cookbooks and became a United Nations food ambassador.

He was a prolific cartoonist. While I could not find information on where his cartoons were published after his cooking show era, it’s clear from his Facebook page he continued to create gag-cartoons and paintings.

Here is a selection of some of his paintings.