THE River Cottage Australia Cookbook was launched to a packed and appreciative crowd at the Central Tilba Hall on Wednesday evening.
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The cookbook inspired by the first three series of the hit television show filmed at Tilba is the first book for host Paul West, who joked that he hoped this was the first of 25 cookbooks in the future.
Bloomsbury Publishing, who has offices around the world and who has published literary hits such as Harry Potter and Heston Blumenthal and many more, chose Central Tilba just down the road from the River Cottage Australia farm as the location for the first official launch.
The local Tilba and Narooma district has really taken to the show and there were 70 cookbooks sold and signed by Paul West at the launch.
Paul said it was humbling to see so many beautiful faces in the hall.
“I really couldn’t have had the launch anywhere else other than here in Central Tilba,” he said.
“Because without this town, without this community and without all you amazing folk who’ve had a hand in this show, we wouldn’t be here, I would probably be on the other side of the street on the veranda of The Drom."
He went to say he’s been here two years but it felt like a lifetime and although he had lived lots of places, other than where he grew up, this was the first place that he felt at home.
The launch was also an opportunity for Paul and partner Alicia Cordia to show off their newborn son Otto, the next generation of sustainable farmer.
Perhaps coming the most far was the Rabbitt family from Bendigo, who were holiday in Narooma and as River Cottage Australia fans were stoked to stumble upon the cookbook launch.
Mum Kirsten with girls Immogen, Sienna and Nyla all enjoyed meeting Digger dog and lined up to get a few books signed for family and friends.
Leonie Lowe, managing director KEO Australia, opened the speeches noting what a wonderful success the show had been and how it built on the original British version founded by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
“We can’t thank Tilba enough for opening their town and community and treating us like one of them,” she said.
Foxtel publicist Lucy Squire congratulated Paul for a cookbook full of beautiful and unique food and also read a note from a company executive about how popular and inspiring the show was, and that the cookbook was the “icing on the organic cake”.
Speaking of cake, the night ended with Paul cutting a beautiful cake made by Tilba locals and CWA members Janine Halasz and Sandy Felder who did the decorations, featuring a miniature copy of the book.
The catering was done by chef Alan Newbold of Narooma and his crew, who produced delicious dishes from the new cookbook, with the food servers noting which page each of the dishes came from.
It was also announced at the launch that Series 3 of the show would air on Foxtel’s Lifestyle Food channel on Tuesday, May 26 at 8.30pm.
The show’s producers, locals and fans meanwhile are all hoping that a fourth series will be announced during Series 3.
In the meantime it was announced this week that River Cottage Australia will start a cooking school at the farm with the first classes being offered this winter.
It’s going to be a busy week for Paul, Alicia and Otto as they now embark on a series of cookbook launches around the region, from Canberra to Ulladulla to Bega.
Paul will also be signing books at the Tilba Easter Festival this Saturday.
The River Cottage Australia Cookbook features recipes from the first three television series of River Cottage Australia, produced by KEO Australia.
The cookbook reveals the delicious dishes that Paul West has been creating on the Central Tilba farm.
The book is divided into seven chapters and includes more than 120 recipes, such as pumpkin scones, roasted octopus salad, baked salmon, spiced aubergine salad, pig on a spit, borlotti bean broth, raw courgette salad and warm curd cake with honey rhubarb.
With a preface by Hugh and a selection of his recipes throughout the book, plus atmospheric, beautiful photography by Mark Chew, this is bound to be one of the best cookery books of the year.
Paul West is a fresh, exciting face on the global food scene, as well as a brilliant Australian television presenter, with a passion for food, self-sufficiency and sustainability that runs deep.
Born in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Paul is a trained chef who has worked in all areas of food production – from Melbourne’s renowned Vue de Monde restaurant and being a WWOOFer (Willing Workers on Organic Farms) in orchards, to working in wholesale markets and at retail fruiterers.