A Cook's Life by Stephanie Alexander

A Cook's Life

Author: Stephanie Alexander

With The Cook's Companion front and centre in half a million kitchens, Stephanie Alexander is the very definition of a household name. Each day thousands turn to her 'food bible' for the most reliable recipes and advice. But before Stephanie Alexander penned a word for the emerging food media, let alone for The Cook's Companion, she had spent decades avidly documenting food experiences.

Shaped by her mother's dedication to good food and her father's love of reading, she trained as a librarian and all the while observed, assessed and re-created the dishes she loved. Her monthly university allowance rarely lasted more than a week – all spent on pan-fried flounder and chestnut Mont Blanc.

She was seduced over pain Poîlane while working as an au pair in Paris, and later over ackee and saltfish in London. In 1966, with no formal culinary training and a newborn baby, but brimming with confidence and sheer determination, she opened Jamaica House with her first husband. The personal toll was great and it was many years until she emerged on the restaurant scene again.

Stephanie's Restaurant would become part of Melbourne food folklore, permanently raising the bar for restaurant dining in Australia. At the time of its opening, in 1976, a salad to most people meant iceberg lettuce, no-one had heard of goat's cheese and ginger came in a tin. Over the next twenty-one years, in her quest for the sort of produce she had enjoyed while living and travelling in Europe, Stephanie championed small local suppliers or grew it herself.

Her indefatigable determination and single-minded vision have influenced – and sometimes intimidated – a generation of chefs, cooks and diners. And now her Kitchen Garden Foundation is inspiring tens of thousands of primary school children across Australia to grow and cook their own food.

A Cook's Life is a very personal account of one woman's uncompromising commitment to good food, and of how it shaped her life and changed the eating habits of a nation.

Penguin Presents - Stephanie Alexander

Kitchen Garden Cooking with Kids, Second Edition

By Stephanie Alexander

Stephanie Alexander's philosophy is that there is no such thing as special food for children; if food is good, everyone will enjoy it regardless of age. Here are 120 recipes with simple instructions, a colourful layout and lots of fast, fun facts. And while these recipes can be made by a couple of eight-year-olds in aprons - with a bit of adult supervision - the dishes are anything but standard...

Published: 22/08/2012

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781921383076

RRP: $39.99

Lantern Cookery Classics: Stephanie Alexander

By Stephanie Alexander

Lantern is proud to publish some of Australia's most celebrated cooks and chefs. Now, in a new series of indispensable books for your kitchen bookshelf, Lantern Cookery Classics brings you timeless recipes from these much-loved authors. Each book has more than sixty recipes – all photographed, and with clear instructions to help you achieve a great result every time.

Soon you'll be whipping...

Published: 22/08/2012

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9781921383137

RRP: $19.99

A Cook's Life

By Stephanie Alexander

A surprising, intimate and revealing insight into the perseverance and drive it took Stephanie Alexander to become an Australian culinary legend.

Published: 21/03/2012

Format: Digital

ISBN: 9781742534947

The Cook's Companion

By Stephanie Alexander

The Cook's Companion has established itself as the kitchen 'bible' in over 300 000 homes since it was first published in 1996. Stephanie Alexander has added over 300 new recipes as well as 12 new chapters to this thoroughly revised and updated edition. Stephanie believes that good food is essential to living well: her book is for everyone, every day. She has invaluable information about ingredients...

Published: 04/10/2004

Format: Hardback

ISBN: 9781920989002

RRP: $130.00

Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion

By Stephanie Alexander

If you have ever dreamed of picking fresh salad leaves for the evening meal, gathering vine-ripened tomatoes or pulling up your own sweet carrots, this is the book for you. Follow in the footsteps of one of Australia's best-loved cooks and food writers as she reveals the secrets of rewarding kitchen gardening. Be encouraged by detailed gardening notes that explain how adults and children...

If you have ever dreamed of picking fresh salad leaves for the evening meal, gathering vine-ripened tomatoes or pulling up your own sweet carrots, this is the book for you. Follow in the footsteps...

Published: 28/09/2009

Format: Hardback

ISBN: 9781920989989

RRP: $125.00

Stephanie Alexander Gift Set

By Stephanie Alexander

The Cook's Companion has established itself as the kitchen 'bible' in over 300 000 homes since it was first published in 1996. Stephanie Alexander has added over 300 new recipes as well as 12 new chapters to this thoroughly revised and updated edition. Stephanie believes that good food is essential to living well: her book is for everyone, every day. The book offers invaluable information about ingredients...

Published: 21/03/2011

Format: Misc.

ISBN: 9781921382710

RRP: $250.00

Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer's Tuscan Cookbook: Recipes and Reminiscences from their Italian Cooking School

By Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer

Travel with Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer to the sunlit hills of Tuscany. Join their cooking classes run from a villa amid the vineyards, and find out how to live in a place where the pleasures of the table are the key to daily life. Learn how to cook and ear by the seasons in one of the world's great food regions and through the eyes of two of our most accomplished cooks and food...

Published: 02/06/2003

Format: Paperback

ISBN: 9780143001577

RRP: $49.95

Cooking & Travelling in South-West France

By Stephanie Alexander

Travel with renowned food writer Stephanie Alexander to the gastronomic heart of France, the legendary south-west, and discover its food, wine, history and culture. Illustrated with magnificent photographs by Simon Griffiths, this book takes you deep into the Dordogne and the Lot (also known by the old regional names of Perigord and Quercy), exploring the food markets and discovering the land of farmhouse...