Recipe book ignites nostalgia

•  Future Links committee members Jodie Terry with Dave and Liz Smith. 

By Taylor Clyne
August 24, 2022

Members of Gladstone community group Future Links are on a mission to collate recipes from around the region into a book that can be treasured in households for years to come.

They have put a call out for locals to send in their favourite recipes, which will be published alongside the residents’ names.

Future Links chairperson Jodie Terry said this is one of several fundraisers they are working on, which will support the development of the Gladstone bike track and other projects in the area.

Ms Terry said they’ve drawn inspiration from a similar community recipe book produced by Gladstone School in the 1970s.

“It’s a little bit nostalgic. I thought it was something the whole community could take part in,” she said.

“I have recipes from my mum, grandmother and aunty who all lived in Gladstone.

“I come from a background in food so a recipe book was the first thing I thought of.”

Ms Terry said she enjoys flipping through the historic recipe books she has from Gladstone, which bring back memories of those who used to live in the town.

“Hopefully 50 years down the track someone will look at this book and say ‘I remember that person’.”

The group welcomes recipes from all over the North-East, which they will collate into an A4 bound book in the coming months. 

Passionate cooks of all ages are invited to contribute, with a section of the book dedicated to kids’ recipes.

“The more the better. Regardless of what type of recipe it is, we’d be interested in publishing it.”

It’s hoped the collection will be on sale by the end of the year in local shops.

Future Links will also host a garage sale trail and a bike track design competition in the coming months, raising funds and public interest for the much-anticipated local track.

Anyone interested in contributing a recipe to the book can send it to jodieterry@bigpond.com