Inspiring the joy in cooking

COOK, author, and former school teacher Alice Zaslavsky is heading to Ballarat next on Thursday, 17 November for an evening in conversation with cake queen Sara Kittelty.

The free public event will be hosted by Collins Booksellers on Lydiard, and is an opportunity for locals to meet Zaslavsky, while celebrating the release of her latest book, The Joy of Better Cooking.

“Joy is skills based, organised easy to harder, and in every recipe you learn skills, find out which gadgets are essential in the kitchen, and which techniques and ingredients are worth knowing about,” she said.

“As you cook, you learn. My style of cooking is very veg-forward. I have made conversational notes, so if I was standing next to you in the kitchen, that’s the information you’d get from me.

“It’s not just a cookbook, but a bit of a motivational manifesto. I want to encourage people to let go of the limitations that they set on themselves and have a bit of a growth mindset It starts in the kitchen, but it can go into all aspects of your life.”

Zaslavsky is most excited about being able to speak to an audience in the Regent Cinema.

“I’ve performed on…major stages at food festivals across the country, but when I found out the talk was going to take place at the Regent, I thought, what an occasion,” she said.

“I want people to feel like they’re making a night of this conversation, and I’ll try to make sure people leave not just feeling inspired, but also feeling like they’ve learnt something, whether that’s about food, some of the people I’ve been able to meet and spend time with, or even me.

“We’ll be talking about food, life, and at the end of the day, I’m still a teacher, so people might just come away feeling like they’ve had a lesson in how to get the most out of life.”

The ABC News Breakfast regular said she’s looking forward to exploring more of Ballarat’s hospitality spots, and returning to Lola at The Provincial Hotel.

“It’s such a boom town again. It won’t be my first visit, and it won’t be my last. I love meeting Ballarat people, and when I get to return, it always feels like I’ve struck gold,” she said.

General admission is free, and the event will run from 6pm to 7.30pm. Register at bit.ly/3EiNG8E.