Donovan, who was the co-founder of the famous St Kilda foreshore restaurant Donovans, died peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday leaving behind his wife, Gail.
'Gail had cooked a wonderful dinner for him,' Nick Parkhouse, the new owner of the restaurant, said.
'His last meal was sharing an incredible thing with Gail, which was a marvellous send-off for him.'
Donovan battled an undiagnosed condition for the last five years and suffered from aneurysms, Parkinson-like symptoms and reduced lung function.
The Donovan couple opened their restaurant in 1997 and it grew to become one of Melbourne's most beloved eateries.
However, after serving more than 1.5 million customers over 26 years, they sold Donovans on August 31.
'Kev's been unwell for five years and not able to work in the restaurant for at least three years,' Mrs Donovan told Good Food at the time.
'It's time that I stayed home, not to look after Kev because I don't intend to do that, but because we want time to have some more fun.'
She also revealed the couple met in 1986 when Mr Donovan moved from America to direct food services at the Grand Hyatt hotel.
Mr Donovan had interviewed Mrs Donovan for a job.
'I went home and said to my housemate, "I'm going to marry that guy". I thought he was wonderful,' Mrs Donovan said.
In a 2018 interview with the Herald Sun, Mr Donovan explained why avoided retirement for so long.
'What would I do? I can’t play golf every day and I hate gardening,' he said.
'It’s like that old saying: do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.
'This is what I love, I’m literally living my dream right now.'