Ian Parmenter dies: Celebrity chef and Consuming Passions host dead, aged 79

Ian Parmenter, the larger-than-life Fleet Street journalist turned chef with an all-consuming passion for WA produce and tourism, has died aged 79.

Friends of the former host of ABC TV cooking show Consuming Passions, known for his trademark moustache and beret, confirmed that Parmenter passed away over the weekend.

Born in London in 1945, he trained and worked as a journalist before moving to Australia in 1971 to help then-wife Janet’s chronic bronchial illness.

He briefly worked in advertising before joining ABC Perth in 1974, eventually becoming a television news producer and director.

He produced the first Leeuwin Concert featuring Ray Charles and the WA Symphony Orchestra for the ABC in 1988.

In 1992, he stepped in front of the camera to begin a nine-year stint hosting 450 five-minute episodes of Consuming Passions.

Early episodes were filmed at Parmenter’s home in Fremantle.

Despite having no professional experience as a chef nor in restaurants, Parmenter’s passion for food and ebullient personality meant he soon became a national identity.

By the time Consuming Passions began screening, he had bought a small cottage in Osmington, Margaret River — the region would soon define and drive his passion for food, wine and culture.

Parmenter was a strident advocate for the South West, and WA in general, describing Margaret River as an extraordinarily energetic community.

He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2011 for service to the food and tourism industries.

He also published several books, including recipe collections such as Cooking with Passion and All-Consuming Passions: Recipes Gathered from a Lifetime of Loving Food.

Released in 2003, Sheer Bottled Bliss traced his journey as a city boy from England to rural WA where he transformed a Margaret River weekender into the award-winning Artamus winery producing 3000 bottles of chardonnay a year.

Parmenter told The West Australian in 2021 that he fell in love with his adopted home because of its rich diversity and distinct community feel.

“We’re different,” he said. “It’s the way the Dutch refer to the Belgians as being ‘Unders’, which is sort of, not like us.

“But the area physically is amazing because we’ve got a mixture of soils on the river bank and that means it’s a perfect place for growing chardonnay or cabernet or pretty much anything.

“You’ve got people growing corn up the road, olives, garlic and other products from this strip and there are animals grazing on the properties,” Parmenter continued. “Everything I really enjoy about cooking is here and we don’t grow things we don’t need to.

“We’re not cool enough to do cherries and stone fruit, but just about anything else we can have a crack at. I couldn’t be more proud of this community.”

Parmenter was no fan of modern reality television shows pitting budding chefs against each other.

“Now food is competitive and that’s chicanery,” he told The West.

“It really is awful when you’re pitting two teams against each other and employing psychologists to generate angst.

“It’s insane. You don’t ever cook with seconds to go.”

A competent musician and sportsman in his younger days, Parmenter never fancied himself as an elite chef.

But he was satisfied with his contribution to the Australian food industry, particularly when he compared his life here to what life would have been like back in his English homeland.

“When I reflect, I couldn’t imagine back then my life now,” he said in 2021.

“Not in a million years could I have imagined it because it has just been so, so rich since I came here.

“I’ve never had a plan, never. It’s all just stuff where I’ve seen an opportunity and I’ve gone for it.

“I’ve had an interesting life.”