Life

Three decades after she published The Cook’s Companion, Stephanie Alexander reflects on what drove her to write the book many regard as a kitchen bible. By Stephanie Alexander.

How plans for a little paperback volume became The Cook’s Companion

Author Stephanie Alexander.

Credit: Simon Griffiths

Looking back 30 years I ask myself, why did I do it? I had already written three books and had discovered the pleasure in remembering and describing dishes that held significance for me beyond the title.

I had also spent a year travelling around Australia, meeting enthusiastic growers, fisherfolk, bakers and cooks who were collectively expanding the world for all food lovers. These makers, growers and gatherers were delightful people, full of information, and they opened my eyes. The way they described their particular product, the difficulties as well as the triumphs, its season and the best way of appreciating it, was so exciting.

Many of these people were romantics like I was and appreciated the pink glow on a peach skin, the curl of fat on a good lamb chop, the flinty flavour of an oyster opened and slurped in its prime. This work became a book titled Stephanie’s Australia: Travelling and Tasting, an odyssey that would be followed by many others in the years to come.

Somewhere on this journey I decided that I would like to write an alphabetical guide to well-known and little-known ingredients and put all this information in one place. I knew it still had to capture the excitement I felt. It had to be accurate and encouraging. My aim then, as now, was to persuade as many as I could to come across and join my team.

My team included those who loved to eat, chose both food and wine with care, loved to share experiences with like-minded friends, and who didn’t have to worry unduly about what each mouthful was doing to their health, given that their choices preferenced the fresh and seasonal and not too much.

I thought I would be writing a little paperback volume, an A-Z of Australian food. My interest in A-Z reflected my 10 years as a librarian and my awareness of the importance of cross-referencing, and of a good index. It would have typical recipes, including those that had some sort of iconic status. Bread and butter pudding would be in, as well as lemon delicious, and how to make a simple meringue or proper mayonnaise.

It would also include dishes named after a friend or relative who had agreed to share them. It would provide a place for little thoughts, the sort of quick dishes I loved to make where one opened the fridge and combined three or four ingredients speedily and created something new. On top of this, it would acknowledge the cultural changes happening in Australia in the early 1980s, as European migrants opened food stores and cafes. Here and there I would share a story from my travels that led to a recipe, mostly in France or Italy and a few other places.

I shared my idea with my friend and publisher Julie Gibbs and started work. I drew up a list of likely entries and started with “A”. It quickly became obvious to me that before I got to the recipes I also needed to comment on how to choose, how to store, what basic preparation might be needed, what flavours and ingredients went well together.

These first entries were all written on a very basic word processor and printed out. My memory tells me I used “floppy disks”, whatever they are. The pile of paper grew and grew and I was still in the letter “A”. Julie said she thought she might have to confer with Bob Sessions, the publishing director at Penguin. I love Bob and am glad I was not around to hear him say firmly to Julie, “Tell her to cut it.” Julie, to whom I am forever thankful, argued that it was too good to cut, and so I went on. And on.

Somewhere in the middle of “C” I had a bit of a meltdown and rang Julie in distress. “I will never get this finished,” I cried. Pragmatic, Julie said move to “M” or some other letter. I was shocked and knew I could not do this. Later I discovered there are more recipes and thoughts in the letter “C” than in almost any other entry. I moved on.

The publishers had their own concerns. This book had no photographs or illustrations. Who would buy it? Would she ever finish it? It was becoming so big. How can it be presented as desirable rather than overwhelming? Enter the marvellous designer Sandy Cull, who magically designed the book so that despite its large size it still remained friendly and approachable. It took four years to finish The Cook’s Companion and Sandy has designed the three iterations, including the 30th anniversary edition, to be published in late March.

It was decided that 10,000 copies of the book would be published for a late October 1996 release. It sold out in a couple of weeks. I have heard great stories of booksellers who nervously ordered three or four copies of this cookery book without food pictures that was to sell for $75, then a very large sum.

The triumph was that the almost instant demand for the book was due to word-of-mouth recommendation, the very best news for an author. Two independent booksellers have entertained me describing their trip with trolley to a supermarket chain that had decided to discount The Cook’s Companion. They piled their trolley with discounted copies so that their customers had a good Christmas, even though they made a very slim profit.

So that is the story of the book that changed my life. I have succeeded in pulling probably a million readers to my team. I am so proud and aware of the responsibility to continue to tell the story of our changing food scene.

The fact that the book is so loved and trusted means I have had to adjust and change it when necessary, to still include a surprising or quirky fact and to alert readers to the environmental concerns that threaten aspects of our food supply, without the book becoming an activist treatise. Above all, it had to be friendly and encouraging. Food security has become a topic that has grown in importance. I believe science and those excellent growers and farmers, with help from convinced politicians, can overcome the many problems that exist. My job was to point out and acknowledge an issue, not to solve it.

I am stopped in the street, in the shops, on the tram, to be told how much someone loves the book. It is my bible, I am told shyly. I have seen many copies without a cover at all. I love seeing a copy with oily stains or chocolate smears on its pages. Of course, I use it myself several times a week.

The success of The Cook’s Companion has enabled me to devote the past 20 years to establishing the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, with the aim of engaging many young Australians in the joys and pleasures of growing, harvesting, preparing and sharing great food every day. More for my team!

There it is.

This article was first published in the print edition of The Saturday Paper on January 24, 2026 as "Writing The Cook’s Companion".

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