The Making of The Cook's Companion
Description
Stephanie Alexander’s culinary compendium, The Cook's Companion, shaped a generation of food lovers. To celebrate 30 years since its initial publication, a glorious anniversary edition, complete with over 90 new or newly-revised recipes, has been released.
In this unmissable event, Stephanie Alexander AO is joined by the book’s original designer, Sandy Cull, editor Caroline Pizzey, and food writer and journalist Richard Cornish, for a discussion about the making of this indispensable kitchen bible.
Doors open: 5.30pm.
Lineup
Stephanie Alexander
Stephanie Alexander AO is regarded as one of Australia’s great food educators. Her reputation has been earned through 30 years as an owner-chef in several restaurants, as the author of 18 influential books and for her groundbreaking work in creating and promoting the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation. Everything she has achieved and worked towards has been driven by her desire to break down anxieties about cooking, to emphasise the beauty of produce fresh from the garden and to promote the pleasures of sharing around a table. Her strong belief is that the earlier children learn about food through example and pleasurable hands-on experience, the better their food choices will be throughout life. Stephanie received a Medal of the Order of Australia in 1994 for her services to the hospitality industry and tourism, and for encouraging young apprentices. She was named Victorian of the Year in 2010. In 2013 Stephanie was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia for her work with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden project. In 2025 Cooking & Travelling in South-West France was named Best of the Best – Special Award of the Jury in the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Her fifth book, The Cook’s Companion, first published in 1996, is regarded as an Australian classic, and has sold over 550,000 copies. Among Stephanie’s other books are Stephanie’s Menus for Food Lovers, Stephanie’s Australia, Stephanie’s Seasons, Stephanie Alexander’s Kitchen Garden Companion, Stephanie Alexander & Maggie Beer’s Tuscan Cookbook, Stephanie’s Journal, Cooking and Travelling in South-West France, Home, Fresh, and her memoir, A Cook’s Life.
Caroline Pizzey
Caroline is a book editor with a special interest in food publishing. She has worked on non-fiction illustrated books for more than four decades, beginning her career in 1982 as a trainee editor with Currey O’Neil Ross, part of industry icon Lloyd O’Neil’s publishing group. She later held in-house roles with Penguin UK and Viking O’Neil, formed in 1987 following Penguin Australia’s acquisition of Lloyd O’Neil Pty Ltd. In 1994, Caroline postponed plans to move to the country to live with her now-husband to work with Julie Gibbs, newly appointed as Viking Publisher. When she made the move the following year, she took with her a cardboard box full of a manuscript from Stephanie Alexander: The Cook’s Companion. Since then, Caroline has freelanced primarily for Penguin and its various imprints, as well as for Hardie Grant Books and Pan Macmillan. She has worked with leading Australian food writers such as Maggie Beer, Kylie Kwong, Christine Manfield, Sean Moran, and Greg Malouf and Lucy Malouf among others. Caroline has continued to edit and consult on many of Stephanie Alexander’s books, coming full circle by collaborating on the 30th anniversary edition of The Cook’s Companion, sparked by an email from Stephanie in December 2023 asking, ‘How itchy are your fingers?!’
Sandy Cull
Sandy has been designing books for over thirty years, with twelve of those in-house at Penguin. She designed the first edition of The Cook’s Companion in 1994 and the second, striped edition in 2005. Freelance since 2006, Sandy designs across several genres but most recently focuses on commercial and literary fiction and non-fiction. She has been a judge for illustration and book design awards, a regular guest-speaker and panelist at literary festivals, a committee member for The Footpath Library and for the Williamstown Literary Festival, and in 2014 was a founding committee member for the Australian Book Designers’ Association. In 2011 Sandy was inducted into the Australian Publishing Association Hall of Fame for her contribution to the industry. Sandy designed the cover for the third edition of The Cook’s Companion in 2025.
Richard Cornish
Richard Cornish, the son of a dairy farmer, became one of the most respected food writers in the nation. His understanding of where food comes from and how it is grown has led him around the world, writing six books on Spanish food (five with Movida and one with Gourmet Pilgrim), another book on Mexican food, and he has co-written several others including Phillippa’s Home Baking. He was the acclaimed commentator on Iron Chef Australia and had a weekly column in Fairfax Good Food in The Age and Sydney Morning Herald called Brain Food. A collection of these were published by Melbourne University Publishing, along with his memoir of going meat free for twelve months called My Year Without Meat. His vision for sustainable food events that help create food communities and offer great experiences to guests have been part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, where he has been a creative director and consultant for over a decade. He continues to write and commentate on food issues and has a passion for food communities in regional Australia.
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