GOURMET TRAVELLER 33Forthe 17 yearswe’vebeenfriendsand
colleaguesI’veadmiredJulieGibbs’ability
tobringthebestoutin people.Julietruly
understandsthecreativeprocessandhas
beenanamazingconduitforgenerations
ofauthors;enabling,inspiring,guidingand
steeringus,whileallowingustoauthentically
tellourstories.In everybookJuliehas
published,youcanfeel,seeandhearthe
authorbeyondthetwo-dimensionalpages,
whichis testamenttoherremarkabletalentanddedication.I trust
Julieimplicitlyandrespecther,andcan’twaittoexperience her
latest project with the Powerhouse Museum.I
f youaretheownerofa well-worn,sauce-
splatteredcopyofStephanieAlexander’s
TheCook’sCompanion, youhaveJulieGibbs
tothankforit.Notthatshewilltakecredit.
“That’sthemostflatteringthingeverasa publisher
oranauthor,if youseea well-worncopyofa bookyou
haveproduced.It’sthebestfeeling.”
Gibbswas 31 whenshepublishedAlexander’s
culinarytomein1996,turningtherespectedchefinto
a best-sellingauthorandhouseholdname– something
shewouldgoontodowithmanymore chefs,
includingMaggieBeer,Kylie
Kwong,DavidThompsonand
MattMoran.
“I hadbeena generaltrade
publisherandlovedthatbut
foodwasalwaysa personal
passion...WhenI starteddoing
it,therewerenotmany
publishersdoingcookery,
notlocallyproducedbooks.”
Nearly 25 yearslater,
TheCook’sCompanionis still
incirculation,havingsold
morethanhalfa million
copiesworldwide.
“I’mdeeplyproudofit,”saysGibbs,whowas
invitedtostartherownpublishingimprintLantern
in2004,followingthesuccessofherearlycookbooks.
“Stephaniehadputsomuchworkintoit,it was
a major,majorpieceofwork.Sheis sorigorousbeing
a librarian, she was dogged in her commitment toproducingthatbook.Andbecauseshewasrunning
a bigrestaurant,shedidit inhersparetime.It came
outin 1996 andjusttookoffina waythatwenever
couldhaveimagined.Peopletookit intotheirhearts.”
Itssuccess,shebelieves,wasduetobothits
comprehensivenessanditstiming.
“WhenI waspublishingthosebooks,therewas
nointernetsotheywerebooksofinformationthat
peopleverymuchneeded.Thatwashowtheygottheir
recipes.TheCook’sCompanionwasthisvitalhousehold
handbook.Togetallthatinformationanywhereelse
wasimpossible.Thatwasa verybigpartofthefood
publishingphenomenoninthebeginning.It was
aboutgivingpeoplea beautifullycuratedcompendium
ofinformation.”
By2015,thatlandscapehadchangedandPenguin
RandomHousemadethedecisiontoclosetheLantern
imprint,aftermorethana decadeofpublishingsome
ofAustralia’sbest-sellingcookbooksandraisingthe
profileofdozensofAustralianchefs,inparticular,
femalechefs.
“I grewupinthe70sandfeminismhasalways
beenveryimportanttome,”saysGibbs.“Seeing
femalechefsrepresentedintheindustryis really
vital.Evennow,we’vestillgottoworkhardat that.”
NowGibbsis ona newmission,creatinga national
culinaryarchiveforthePowerhouseMuseum.The
project,whichwasannouncedinMarch,is thefirst
ofitskindandwillfocusonAustralia’scontemporary
culinary history,from 1968 onwards.
“The archiveis reallyimportant.Therearesomany
taskstodowithit.Oneis totryto
gathertogethertreasure.Theother
one– andmynextbigpush– is to
educatetheyoungerchefsnowto
keepthings.That’smybigcrusade.
Don’tthrowawayyourbookings
booksoryourmenunotes,oryour
Covidnoticesortakeawaymenus.
Keepyourdesignbriefs.Because
comingbacktothiswillbe
fascinatingforpeople,”shesays.
ThefamiliesofMargaretFulton
andTonyBilsonarealreadyinvolved
intheprojectandGibbsis eagerto
hearfromothersinthefoodindustrywhomayhave
treasurewaitingtobeuncovered.
“I justwantpeopletoknowthatnowthereis a place
wheretheirmaterialwillbefaithfullypreserved.It’s
allinoneplaceandit’sgoingtotella reallyimportant
story.Theywillhaveaccesstoit and their families to
come will have access to it.”●“Don’tthrowaway
yourbookingsbook,
oryourmenunotes,or
yourCovidnoticesor
takeawaymenus.Keep
yourdesignbriefs.
Becausecomingbackto
this will be fascinating.”WORDS JOANNA HUNKIN (MAIN) & KYLIE KWONG (INTRODUCTION). PHOTOGRAPHY PENNY LANE (KYLIE KWONG) & CLAIRE LLOYD (JULIE GIBBS).