Tried, Tested and True: Stories and recipes celebrating the traditions of Australian community cookbooks

Description

Forget celebrity chefs. The books that truly reflect what most Australians cooked and ate at home for decades were put together by people you have never heard of, all in the name of helping others. Community cookbooks have raised millions of dollars for Australian charities and causes, ranging from cash-strapped local schools and churches to international movements like Variety and the Red Cross. Many of these books were humble publications, hand-printed and stapled together by volunteers. But some, like the iconic PWMU Cookbook from Victoria, the Green and Gold Cookery Book in South Australia, the CWA's Cookery Book and Household Hints from WA and the Bundaberg CWA branch cookery book from Queensland, have outlived fleeting food fads, and are still in print and much-used today. Tried, Tested and True: treasured recipes and untold stories from Australian community cookbooks celebrates this amazing tradition. Based on extensive original research, best-selling author and Gourmand World Cookbook award-winner Liz Harfull brings to light previously untold stories about the cookbooks and the people who created them. Featuring carefully selected recipes, updated with additional tips and hints to ensure success for the most inexperienced modern cook, Tried, Tested and True is a treasure trove for your kitchen.

Liz Harfull is passionate about telling the stories of Australia's quiet voices-the extraordinary, everyday people who make up our communities. An award-winning journalist and rural communicator, she grew up on a farm near Mount Gambier, discovering her love of both writing and cooking at a young age. In 2006, Liz walked away from corporate life to write books. Her leap of faith was rewarded two years later with The Blue Ribbon Cookbook, which captured the stories and traditions of South Australian country shows and show cooks, and became a surprise bestseller. It even took the author to Paris after winning a Gourmand World Cookbook Award. Since then Liz has written two national bestsellers, Women of the Land and The Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook. Inspired by her mother, her most recent book, City Girl Country Girl, explored the adventures of women from the city and overseas as they made new lives in rural Australia. Today Liz lives in the Adelaide Hills, occasionally finding time to bake scones and make jam, while juggling a business writing career.