2023 Coronation Quiche sparks debate
In April 2023, as the UK began to work itself into a fever about the imminent coronation of King Charles… Read More
Cooking
2021 Gnocchi tops list of most Googled recipes
Tracking the list of most Googled recipes over the past few years is both revealing and mystifying. The most Googled… Read More
2006 First Indigenous celebrity chef
The TV series Outback Café was not Mark Olive's first appearance on the small screen - he had previously hosted… Read More
1997 Women cooking most
In a study called How Australians Use their Time, 1997, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that we still relied… Read More
1990s More pre-packaged meals
In the 1990s, individually packaged, ready-made meals and snacks appeared in increasing numbers in the supermarket. Microwave pasteurisation techniques extended… Read More
1990s Fusion cooking
Fusion cooking started before the 1990s (at Tetsuya’s, for example) but in this decade became more widespread. Chefs combined eastern… Read More
1989 Sous vide cooking in Australia
The sous vide (literally, under vacuum) technique involves cooking food vacuum-sealed in plastic in a water bath at a precisely… Read More
1988 The term molecular gastronomy coined
Oxford Professor of Physics, Nicholas Kurti, and French physical chemist and magazine editor, Hervé This, coined the term molecular gastronomy… Read More
1986 Margaret Fulton’s Asian cookbook
Margaret Fulton's Asian cookbook the 'Encyclopedia of Asian and Oriental Cookery' encouraged families to pick up the chopsticks and try… Read More
1980 Women’s Weekly Birthday Cake Book
The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book has become the bible for achievement-oriented mums who want to make that… Read More
Late 1970s Peter Russell-Clarke sells eggs
As question marks were raised about eggs as high-cholesterol food, The Victorian Egg Board enlisted the services of artist, author… Read More
1977 Howqua Dale weekend retreat founded
Sarah Stegley and Marieke Brugman owned and operated the Howqua Dale Gourmet Retreat, at Mansfield in central Victoria for 30… Read More
1977 Breville Kitchen Wizz released
The Breville Kitchen Wizz food processor was an affordable Australian version of the European MagiMix. It was one of the… Read More
1976 Apricot Chicken recipe
There were earlier recipes called Apricot Chicken, but the first I can find for the 1970s classic with the standard… Read More
1976 Don Dunstan’s Cookbook published
One of the few politicians to publish a cookbook , the Premier of South Australia favoured an eclectic and informal… Read More
1974 Breville Snack’n’Sandwich Toaster
A replacement for the old-fashioned jaffle iron, the Breville Snack'n'Sandwich Toaster sold 400,000 and was snapped up by 10 per cent… Read More
1973 Crock-pot cooking introduced
Crock-Pot is a brand name for a bench-top electric slow cooker. The idea dates back to 1940 in the USA… Read More
1972 Be Bold with Bananas
The National Library of Australia has this publication dated at 1972, although other sources are less certain of the date.… Read More
1972 Charmaine Solomon’s first Asian cookbook
Charmaine Solomon is credited with introducing Australia to Asian food. She was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, but moved to… Read More
1970 Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook
The first edition of the classic Australian Women’s Weekly Cookbook was published in 1970, heralding a new era of international cookery… Read More
1969 Beginnings of nouvelle cuisine
Said to have been born on the first Concorde flight out of Paris, this new and lighter approach to French… Read More
1969 First microwave oven imported
The first commercial microwave oven, Raytheon's Radarange, was invented in the USA in the late 1940s. Domestic models began to sell… Read More
1968 First Margaret Fulton cookbook
Cookery writer Margaret Fulton was the food editor of Woman's Day magazine when her first cookbook was published by Paul… Read More
1967 Australia’s first frozen Chinese meals?
Although there had previously been frozen TV dinner ranges which included Asian dishes, the first all-Chinese frozen meal range may… Read More
1966 GLAD® Wrap introduced
In 1966 the GLAD® brand was born in Australia with the launch of 'the amazing new plastic GLAD® Wrap, a… Read More
1965 Sartee stall at Darwin Show
It's better known to most of us as a satay. But in Darwin many people, especially those in the Chinese… Read More
1963 Robert Carrier’s Great Dishes of the World.
Robert Carrier's Great Dishes Of The World sold over 2 million copies worldwide in 14 languages; and was hailed as… Read More
1962 Scotts TV dinners advertised
The term "TV dinners" emerged as a brand name in the USA in 1955, although frozen ready-to-eat meals had been… Read More
1961 First Tupperware party in Australia
Earl Silas Tupper introduced the range of plastic containers in the USA in 1946. Their trademark was the distinctive “burping"… Read More
1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking first published.
Although this book is largely credited to Julia Child, it was co-authored with Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle, whom Child… Read More
1960 Margaret Fulton joins Woman’s Day
Margaret Fulton, then working at advertising agency J. Walter Thompson, joined the weekly women's magazine Woman's Day as food editor… Read More
1958 Australia’s first barbecue cookbook
Australia's first barbecue cookbook, The burnt offering: (how not to barbecue), by Winsom A Gilbert, appeared in 1958. Gilbert was… Read More
1957 Australia’s first TV chef
Australia's first TV chef was Willi Koeppen. His program, The Chef Presents was one of Australia’s earliest TV cooking programs. It aired on… Read More
1956 Olympic Games attracts chefs to Melbourne
The 1956 Olympic Games changed the restaurant scene in Melbourne. Despite an initial suggestion that shearers’ cooks should introduce visiting… Read More
1955 New Sunbeam appliances
In 1955, Sunbeam Australia launched their pop-up’ toaster, electric frypan and ‘Ironmaster’. The Sunbeam electric frypan, which became an essential… Read More
1954 First cook at Mawson Base, Antarctica
In January 1954, a party of 10 men set out to build the first permanent Australian base on the Antarctic… Read More
1954 Curried Goanna served in Sydney
On 8 May 1954, Curried Goanna was among the foods served at a special Northern Territory night at a Sydney… Read More
1953 Chocolate Crackles trademarked
December 1953 saw the name Chocolate Crackles trademarked by Kellogg, despite the fact that the recipe had been in circulation… Read More
1952 Spaghetti bolognese recipe
Why would it have a French spelling? And why would it include Worcestershire sauce? And why would you bake it?… Read More
1951 Maggi dried soups launched in Australia
Dried soups became an essential part of store-cupboard cookery in the 1950s. Unilever’s Continental brand was Maggi’s principle competitor. Their… Read More
1950 Betty King debuts as ‘leading home economist’
Betty King, Home Economist, of World Brands Pty Ltd was one of the leading ladies of Australian cookery…the Margaret Fulton… Read More
1949 Jaffle craze hits Australia
That Aussie icon, the jaffle iron, has a shorter history than you may think. It was invented in 1949 and… Read More
1949 Aerophos Recipe Book
Issued by the "manufacturers of AEROPHOS food phosphate raising ingredients" the Aerophos Recipe Book was a fixture in many Australian kitchens… Read More
1948 Sunbeam Mixmaster launched
Sunbeam can trace its Australian history back to 1902, when the American Chicago Flexible Shaft Company (later the Cooper Engineering Company) set up… Read More
1948 First Chinese cookery book for Australians
In 1948, Roy Geechoun (otherwise Lee Lock Gee Choun) published a Chinese cookery book written for non-Chinese Australians. It was… Read More
1944 Wild’s Ezy-Sauce trademarked
Not being one to make my own pickles and sauces, I had never heard about Wild's Ezy-Sauce. Not until it… Read More
1942 Beefless days introduced
In a first step towards World War II food rationing, newspapers throughout Australia announced on 16 January that "The eating… Read More
1941 Rise of the tuna casserole
Easy Ways to Good Meals: 99 Delicious Dishes Made With Campbell's Soups popularised the tuna and noodle casserole made with… Read More
1940 William Angliss Food Trades School opens
When I was writing the book based on this timeline, I spent some time in the library of the William… Read More
1939 Steak Diane introduced to Australia
There is some dispute about the origins of Steak Diane but it was almost certainly introduced to Australia by Tony… Read More
1937 Earliest known Chocolate Crackles recipe
Chocolate Crackles are small, chocolate-flavoured cakes made from Rice Bubbles, coconut and Copha. The earliest Chocolate Crackles recipe so far… Read More
1936 Seafood cocktail on the beach
In 1936, The Mail, Adelaide, published a recipe for seafood cocktail as a suggestion for a beach party. It's unclear… Read More
1933 Chocolate Ripple Cake
Brockhoff's Chocolate Ripple biscuits were introduced in the early 1930s and the first recipes for Chocolate Ripple Cake appeared in… Read More
1929 Avocado on toast first mentioned
In an article in The Telegraph, Brisbane, in 1929, Margaret Cullen wrote about Robert Walsh's Redcliffe garden where avocados… Read More
1927 Emily McPherson College opens
The Emily McPherson College was originally known as the College of Domestic Economy, opened in 1907. By the mid-1920s, the… Read More
1925 Quickfri miracle cooking pan
The Quickfri pan was an English invention and was on the market in Australia the same year it was introduced in… Read More
1923 Green and Gold Cookery Book first published.
The Green and Gold Cookery Book was one of the earliest ‘charity’ cookbooks and was compiled as a fundraising initiative of King's… Read More
1923 First Australian domestic refrigerator
The first commercially available, Australian-made domestic refrigerator to operate without ice was produced by Edward Hallstrom in 1923. It used kerosene… Read More
1922 Country Women’s Association formed
There's a lot more to the Country Women's Association (known everywhere in Australia just as the CWA) than tea and… Read More
1920 Anzac Biscuit recipe first published
Along with the Pavlova, the Anzac Biscuit has a contested heritage. There is some dispute about the date of the… Read More
1919 Three Threes Condiments founded
The founder of Three Threes Condiments may not be as famous as one of his workmates, Bert Appleroth who founded… Read More
1917 Gravox invented by Clements Brothers
Time was, Sunday wouldn't be Sunday without the traditional roast at lunchtime. And the traditional roast wouldn't be the same… Read More
1917 Metters ‘Early Kooka’ gas stove introduced
The 'Early Kooka' range of gas stoves was developed by Metters, a company established by Frederick Metters in Adelaide in… Read More
1917 Wartime cookery – sandwich pie
This recipe for sandwich pie dates from 1917, when Australia was at war. Patriotism required those on the home front… Read More
1915 Fowlers Vacola home bottling kits
Although the Fowlers Vacola name came later, Joseph Fowler began selling his home bottling kits in 1915. Initially, the kits… Read More
1914 Barker’s Paper Patty Pans introduced
The cupcake craze of the early 21st century could not have taken off without paper patty pans. These fluted waxed… Read More
1914 Commonsense Cookery Book
The first issue of the Commonsense Cookery Book was produced by the NSW Public School Cookery Teachers Association in 1914 and… Read More
1913 Pumpkin scones recipe published
Although pumpkins (or their seeds) arrived in Australia with the First Fleet and scones had their origin in Scotland sometime in… Read More
1908 Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe
Kentucky Fried Chicken in 1908? In Australia? Yes, we discovered this Kentucky Fried Chicken recipe in the household hints section… Read More
1907 College of Domestic Economy founded in Melbourne
The College of Domestic Economy was founded to give women an education in domestic arts and sciences. It offered diploma… Read More
1905 The Kalgoorlie electric stove
The world's first patent for a household electric stove was issued to David Curle Smith, the Kalgoorlie Municipal Electrical Engineer, in… Read More
1901 Neenish tarts recipe
No-one really knows the origin of neenish tarts, the bi-coloured pastries still widely available in Aussie cake shops. The first… Read More
1900 Lamingtons invented
There are various stories (probably apocryphal) about how lamingtons were invented. However, it seems likely that they were devised by… Read More
1898 Hannah Maclurcan’s cook book
Hannah Maclurcan achieved considerable fame with her 1898 cookbook Mrs Maclurcan's Cookery Book: A Collection of Practical Recipes, Specially Suitable… Read More
1898 White Wings founded
In Australia, when you say cake mix, the first name that springs to mind is likely to be White Wings.… Read More
1897 Origin of Melba toast
While not an Australian dish, Melba toast belongs here thanks to its name. Invented by noted chef Escoffier at London’s… Read More
1892 Early mention of banana bread
Articles published in the 1890s urged Queensland banana growers to produce banana flour, claiming that the banana bread produced from… Read More
1890s Pie floater invented in Port Pirie, SA
The quintessentially South Australian pie floater was reputedly invented by a Port Pirie baker known as Ern ‘Shorty’ Bradley. It… Read More
1886 Dishwasher patented by Josephine Cochran
The first patent for a dish-washing machine was issued in 1850 in the USA, but the machine was never put… Read More
1885 Gramma pie recipe
Although references to gramma squash can be found in Newcastle market reports from the 1850s, the vegetable had almost certainly… Read More
1879 First Greek fish and chip shop
Athanassio Comino hailed from the Greek island of Kythera and arrived in Sydney in 1873. Although some accounts say he… Read More
1870 “Colonial goose” canned in Melbourne
"Colonial goose" had nothing to do with poultry. It was a joint of mutton, boned, stuffed and rolled, to be… Read More
1864 Australia’s first cookbook
The English and Australian Cookery Book. Cookery for the Many, as Well as for the “Upper Ten Thousand” (London, 1864),… Read More
1861 Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management
This English cook book was equally popular in the British colonies and became a household bible for many Australian households.… Read More
Early 1850s – Bull Boar sausages in Daylesford region
They weren't called Bull Boar sausages at the time. But when Italian and Italian-speaking Swiss immigrants formed a community on… Read More
1853 Bush-cookery by Caroline Chisholm
In a book titled The Emigrant’s Guide to Australia: With a Memoir of Mrs. Chisholm, published in 1853, Eneas Mackenzie included what… Read More
1853 First gas stoves in Australia
The first U.S. patent on a gas stove was granted in 1825 and the first English patent in 1826 but… Read More
1843 Baking powder invented
It's generally acknowledged that the first true baking powder was made by British chemist Alfred Bird in 1843. He was… Read More
1843 Earliest cookbook published in Australia
Although it was long thought that Australia's first cookbook was The English and Australian Cookery Book: Cookery for the Many,… Read More
1841 Cornish pasty arrives with miners
In fact, the Cornish pasty most likely arrived in South Australia earlier than 1841. By this time, some 941 Cornish… Read More
1836 Parrot pie for Christmas
One of the first settlers to arrive in Adelaide in 1836, Mary Thomas, wrote that she had celebrated Christmas according… Read More
1825 Australian ‘damper’ first mentioned
Damper, the traditional bushman's bread originally made from flour, water and salt and cooked in the campfire, was first mentioned… Read More
Pre-1770 Indigenous food timeline
Australia’s first inhabitants had an oral, not a written tradition. Although their rock art and the archaeological record can tell… Read More