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Colin Fassnidge pays tribute to late chef and 'sparring partner' Darren Simpson

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Tributes are pouring in for celebrity chef Darren Simpson, who has died suddenly after a long battle with alcoholism.

The Irishman, who adopted Australia as his home, is understood to have recently left a rehabilitation facility in Queensland before he died in a Brisbane hospital on Thursday afternoon.

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Celebrity chef Darren Simpson dies after battle with illness

Tributes are pouring in for celebrity chef Darren Simpson, who died suddenly following a heart attack near his Byron Bay home.

Simpson's cause of death has not been confirmed, but it is understood his death is related to a long battle with alcohol addiction.

He achieved fame as a celebrity chef on television programs such as Ready Steady Cook and My Restaurant Rules, as well as appearing regularly on Sunrise.

Most recently, he appeared on The Best in Australia on The LifeStyle Channel.

Former Ready Steady Cook host Peter Everett called Simpson "a larrikin, a kind-hearted man" in a tribute posted on Facebook.

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"We shared some fun and funny times on Ready Steady Cook, be proud of all you achieved in this life," he wrote.

Maria Michael, the show's Executive Producer, told Fairfax Media: "This is very sad news and the loss of an extraordinary talent. Our thoughts are with his family and many industry friends."

Simpson grew up in Armoy and Hillsborough outside Belfast, one of three children of publican parents. A family friend, a chef in Bermuda, inspired him to think about a career in cooking.

It was a wise move. At 21, he was named the youngest ever winner of UK's Young Chef of The Year.

He began his career with a brief stint in London he moved back to his home town where, in 1990, he was noticed by acclaimed Irish chef Paul Rankin and brought into his Michelin starred restaurant Roscoff.

Before moving to Australia he also worked in restaurants including Le Gavroche and the River Café in London.

In 1999 Simpson was head hunted to move to Sydney and take up the head chef role at Aqua Luna in Circular Quay.

The role opened the door to television opportunities in Australia and in 2001 he was nominated for the best bew talent Logie for his work on infotainment show Live This.

In Sydney he opened La Sala in Woollahra in 2005 before moving to BarrenJoey House in Palm Beach.

More recently he had been working in various restaurants in Queensland and had been working at The Avenue on the Gold Coast and at BV Pizzeria and Wine Bar on the Sunshine Coast.

Tributes have been pouring in for the chef, described as "one of the best".

Terry Durack, Sydney Morning Herald's Chief Restaurant Critic, praised Simpson's influence on the local food scene, saying "he brought something new to Sydney" with his modern take on rustic Italian food at Aqua Luna, which won a chef's hat in 2000.

"I didn't know him as a television chef but as a real one, grafting in many of the top kitchens in the UK (including the Italian-leaning River Café and Sartoria) and in Sydney," said Durack.

"Darren changed the look and feel of our contemporary Italian menus almost overnight.

"He then became famous for a dish of tangled, crunchy, deep-fried school prawns that people adored – and a great dish of fish cooked 'all'acqua pazza', in crazy water," he said.

"He brought that cocky Irish charm to everything he did, but was actually a big old softie inside."

Chef and MKR judge Colin Fassnidge paid tribute to his old "sparring partner".

"I met him in 1999. He was Irish too so that's how I got to know him, Matt Moran introduced us," Fassnidge told Fairfax Media.

"We were friends earlier on, but then we became sparring partners. He was a very good sparring partner," he laughed.

The two chefs had notoriously feuded over social media over the years, after Fassnidge had criticised Simpson for a promotional gig for fast food giant KFC in 2011.

"Our last little stoush, which wasn't so long ago, we just sort of said, 'Yeah, whatever – until the next one.' I was always waiting for the next one and so was he.

"That's just who he was, and that's who I was. He stood his corner, I stood my corner."

Despite their drama, he said Simpson's legacy in Sydney's food scene won't ever be in doubt.

"When I first got [to Sydney], down at Circular Quay, he was on fire," said Fassnidge.

"Obviously the man had his demons, as we all do. But I think he was a great cook and everything else will be overshadowed.

"That's how he'll be remembered. And he'll be known for being a fiery f---er, as well."

Simpson is survived by his sons Hamish, 12, and Angus, 14, and wife Julie.