Overview

The “Blue Ribbon” of this title is the traditional blue ribbon awarded to winning entries in country shows and specifically the various cookery sections (Classes) of the Horticultural and Agricultural Shows throughout South Australia. From cover to cover this is an attractive book, with well laid out pages, clear and easy to read text and nice sharp images to delight the eye and stimulate the taste buds. The prize winning cooks are women, men and children of all ages and mostly from towns and farming communities close to particular show venues. The recipes range from the humble tomato sauce, various preserves, jams and jellies, through baked goods from biscuits to sponge cakes and a State Competition winning entry of a rich dark fruit cake.

Full review

Liz Harfull is described as “author, freelance journalist, photographer, consultant and keen amateur cook”. She is also an experienced show entrant herself and her intention in writing this book is to celebrate the thousands of show entrants, past and present, and to encourage others to enter cooking Classes in their local shows to keep the traditions alive. She is obviously passionate about country shows and their importance to country communities as showcases for farming and domestic activities.

The cover art subtly reflects the theme of the book, inviting the reader to look more closely, then open the book and start reading. A blue, satin ribbon page marker is a nice additional touch. The Blue Ribbon Cookbook is a compact hard back, just a little longer than it is wide (20×23.5cm) with 171 pages.

There are Contents pages at the front listing the individual show venues with the name of the featured recipe, and there is a simple alphabetical Index of recipes at the back.

The book is a showcase for individual cooks, all of whom have won the blue ribbon in a particular cooking Class at one or more shows. Most are multiple blue ribbon winners.

Each entry has a brief biography and photograph of the featured cook, the recipe and a picture of the finished item, usually covering two facing pages. There are also two side bars for each recipe: one has “Tips from the Cook”, usually focusing on the recipe and making, and another that has “Tips from the Judges”. These are tips on show cooking, presentation, what the judges look for and what will cause an entry to be rejected; all of it invaluable information for anyone who may decide to enter a particular show Class.

The tips from the various Judges are compiled in a single page at the back for easy reference.

Over all, there are forty nine country show venues covered, each featuring one successful cook and a recipe for their prize winning entry, four entries from the Royal Adelaide Show and one State Competition entry.

The recipes are mostly home cooking standard recipes that present a challenge to any cook, but with the addition of some traditional German goodies such as German Yeast Cake (Kuchen), and Rote Grütze, traditionally made in this region with the Australian twist of late picked shiraz, mataro or grenache grapes.

The recipes are set out clearly and, reading through them, there are no obvious omissions or errors in the ingredients list or instructions. Furthermore, the author states that each recipe has been tested prior to publication (by family and friends) and for me, that alone stands as a recommendation for the book.

There are, however, a few minor spelling errors in the last few entries; errors of the sort that are not picked up by electronic checking routines.

In addition to the recipe pages, other pages have pictures of old advertisements, show schedules and photographs of show venues in past centuries, and brief histories of the different show venues. Many of the country shows date back to early settlement and the photographs from the different eras are intriguing glimpses of the past and social and dress changes that have occurred. The old advertisements are fun to read too.

While the focus of the book is show cooking and the preparation and presentation of entries, other cooks who are not interested in showing will also gain a lot from reading it. The tips from the individual cooks about the preparation and baking of the recipes they use are not the usual tips found in cookery books and are invaluable because they are specific to an individual recipe.

A book that stands alone, this is one I would recommend to all cooks who like to read their cookery books and enjoy cooking from recipes that offer some challenge.