A COOK'S LIFE - 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.

The above are the publisher's words but I have to say that as keen as I was to read the story of one my heroes, a truly great Australian culinary figure, in this most handsome hardback book I was somewhat disappointed as there was too much about her personal life and not enough about her cooking life.

As Gay Bilson summed it up in her review in the Australian Financial Review:
The is much to recommend in A Cook’s Life by chef, writer and restaurateur Stephanie Alexander, but her self-preoccupation detracts from a praiseworthy work.


Stephanie Alexander is a much revered figure down here in the south Pacific and many will want to read her memoir; I just wish I could be more enthusiastic about it. If you do buy it or borrow it though stick with it because the second half is much more interesting than the first.

Penguin Books
Hardback - NZ$50