It doesn’t look like much of a photo, I admit.  We were all tired and the kitchen was a bomb site, but we were internally ecstatic because this photo is the last recipe being shot for the cookbook project. It’s another small step in a very long march and it’s been so exciting to see these recipes come to life. Marieka and our photographer Sarah have been working on it every Thursday for the last eight weeks, gradually chipping away at the 85 recipes that needed beautiful glossy photographs.  It was also fitting that the last recipe to be shot was Selma Kappler’s Honey Biscuits.  You’ll find her recipe on page 63 of the original Cookery Book as Mrs Vic Kappler, Tanunda. Called Honig Kuchen in the traditional Barossa German, they are a fiercely popular biscuit made with honey and spices.  I love that Selma’s recipe was the last one to be shot today, because a little over four years ago it was her recipe and story that kick started this entire project.  You’ll have to wait until the book is published to read all about Selma’s story and how she dragged us down this cookbook-shaped rabbit hole, but it’s also fair to say that we have no desire to ever climb out now that we are here.  We adore this old cookbook and the women who created it.  The project to give it a whole new life has just been such an honour and a labour of love.

And given the photography milestone, it’s also a great time to provide an update on the project’s fundraising campaign:

The original cookbook, in continuous print since 1917, was a war fundraiser that established the Tanunda Soldiers Memorial Hall and the book has been the main source of income for the building ever since.  The building now incorporates Barossa Regional Gallery and holds the culture of our region, and the cookbook, at its heart.  It’s very important to us that the intent of the cookbook be honoured, so we are determined that proceeds from the updated companion will be directed back to the building and the community – just as the original cookbook intended.  We will not be making any profit from this book, which is why we need to raise funds to publish it.

There are many ways to support the project; we have a Go Fund Me campaign currently running where you can donate as much or as little as you choose.  This initial funding is important because it will pay the professional designer, photographer and editor who are currently all working on the project.  There will also be a pre-order campaign that will open later in June.  Pre-orders are important because they give us a prediction of order volume (so we know how many books to print) but also generates the money we need to pay the printer.   So your support, no matter how big or small, helps to keep the wheels turning and get this book into publication.

If you’d like to support our Go Fund Me campaign click here: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/barossa-cookery-book-project

If you’d like to stay updated as pre-order become available sign up to our email list here: https://www.thosebarossagirls.com.au/barossa-cookery-book-project/

We will email you when order commitments are open.

In the meantime, Sheralee did a radio interview with ABC Adelaide earlier this week that covered all sorts of project info.  If you’d like an update, the full interview is available here, at the 40 minute mark: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/northandwest-mornings/sa-mornings/103833972

And as all that goes on, we stare skyward at crystal blue and fluffy white clouds as they taunt us with a never-ending autumn.  Sitting in the sun to drink coffee is all very lovely, but the flipside is that it’s very dry and the dust hangs in the air like a curtain.  Its on everything, and in everything, but such is the way the seasons turn.  The opening break is late, so if you visit South Australia, please bring a rain dance.  Pegging towels on the line, washing your car and cleaning your windows may also help.  We thank you in anticipation.

Happy keeping, keepers

XX

Sheralee