Community & Business
27 June, 2022
Shirley's recipes still hitting the spot
Thousands of copies of Shirley Elsden's recipe books have been snapped up over the years and despite being 90 now she is still having an impact on the local cooking scene.
Shirley’s reputation as a great cook is known throughout the district and she was both an exhibitor and a judge for many years in the cooking sections at regional shows as well as the annual Toowoomba Show and the Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane.
Her recipes have been published in four previous editions with the latest, Grandma’s Favourites, released by her family for her 90th birthday in March this year.
Included is a range of family favourite soups and starters, main dishes, desserts, biscuits and slices, and preserves.
The cover design features the intricately patterned fabric of the wedding dress she wore to marry her late husband John in 1952.
They met through mutual friends on the Gold Coast, he visiting from Pittsworth and she from Millmerran.
Daughter Janelle said the whole family has cherished memories of Shirley’s cooking.
“Whatever was going on in life at the time, it was always solved at the kitchen table with a cup of tea and something to eat,” she said.
Shirley’s first foray into show exhibiting was at a Pittsworth Flower Show in 1966 and after that she was unstoppable.
An excerpt from the introduction reads: “Mum was happiest when the table was full of food and the kitchen full of people.
“At show time the cooking just went on around meals being prepared and eaten, you didn’t dare touch a cake or biscuit as it was probably going to be a champion.”
Later she went on to steward and judge and was Chief Steward at Pittsworth and Toowoomba Shows for many decades.
Proceeds from the sale of Grandma’s Favourites will be used to upgrade the cooking exhibition shelves at the Pittsworth Showgrounds.
Copies are available for $25 at Top Paddock Clothing, Yandilla Street, Pittsworth.
