In the Land of the Magic Pudding

1999

A gastronomic miscellany

Barbara Santich, November 2000

In the Land of Magic Pudding is a fabulous potpourri of popular writing by our top writers, on the theme of Australian cooking and eating.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 experience of eating indigenous foods) to the present day.

Highlights include dissertations on damper and its variants, Miles Franklin's description of her grandmother's orchard, Ruth Park and Marcus Clarke on Christmas meals and D.H. Lawrence on 'High Tea'. There are over 100 contributions in all, from Norman Lindsay, Henry Lawson, Patrick White, Frank Moorhouse, David Malouf, Peter Carey, Ruth Park, Carmel Bird, Mario Halligan, recent Vogel winner Hsu-Ming Teo and many more.

In the Land of Magic Pudding is published by Wakefield Press, retails for $29.95, and will be available from November 2000

About the author

Barbara's passionate interest in food, culture and history is evident in her internationally successful publication, The Original Mediterranean Cuisine.She is also the author of Looking for Flavour,winner in the 1997 Australian Food Writers' Awards and Apples to Zampone.Barbara enjoys national and international recognition as one of Australia's most respected and original food writers. She has written for Australian and International journals, books, magazines and newspapers, including The Oxford Companion to Food, The New York Times, Gourmet Traveller, The Australianand the Financial Review. In the Land of Magic Pudding will be released together with The Dionysian Diary 2001: The Wine lovers' daily companion.

Barbara also contributes essays to Mietta's forum;

* How much would you pay for a tastier chook?

* Global Cuisine(s)?