In the Land of the Magic Pudding: A Gastronomic Miscellany

by Barbara Santich (Editor)

In the Land of the Magic Pudding is a fabulous potpourri of popular writing by our top writers, on the theme of Australian cooking and eating, the vital ingredient being the entertaining quality of the prose. Through fiction, journalism, books of etiquette, letters, diaries and travel accounts, the anthology presents wonderful reading fodder from the eighteenth century (when Joseph Banks recorded his experiences of eating indigenous foods) to the present day. Contributors include D.H. Lawrence, Miles Franklin, Marcus Clarke, Patrick White, Frank Moorhouse and Hsu-Ming Teo.

272 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2000

About the author

Barbara Santich is a highly respected food writer, culinary historian and academic, with an abiding interest in French food, cooking and eating, currently focused on eighteenth-century Provence. Her book on Australian food history, 'Bold Palates: Australia's Gastronomic Heritage', was shortlisted in the non-fiction category of the 2013 Prime Minister's Literary Awards.

Reviews

[Taiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's interesting to note that Australian cooks have always been creative and willing to experiment with their food. It seems they have always been good cooks and besides always loving to eat, there seems to be a rich history of those who were willing to write about food. That's where this collection really does come into its own, with snippets from works of fiction, journalism, books of etiquette, letters, diaries and travel accounts. A view through the ages of Australian gastro-culture and it's influences from taking what is local and available to following the fashions of Europe and the British Isles only to return to putting their own stamp on the gastronomic passport. It's an interesting read, and I only wished it had more input from other arenas to round out the prose selections.