“We thought it would last only a year or two.”
Instead, the book has powered on to sell more than three-quarters of a million copies since its 1966 debut by moving ahead with the times, but keeping the basics.
Over four decades, Cookery the Australian Way has weathered the trends of microwave cooking, the bran revolution, GI indexes, and ever-changing recommendations for the right combinations of protein, carbs and fat.
Vocabulary has also evolved.
Students today are no longer told to “prick” pastry or “stuff a chook”.
And the days of thinking of stir-fry or spaghetti bolognaise as exotic ethnic recipes are long gone.
Today, Mrs Cameron is most concerned about the growing trend toward convenience foods, and more committed than ever to the importance of basic, natural and healthy cooking.
“It’s a mind-set that we are time-poor and can’t prepare decent food any more,” she says.
“I could have something healthy cooked up long before you get back with anything take-away.”
Not surprisingly for someone who likes to keep busy, Mrs Cameron worked on the cookbook as well as carrying out full-time duties between 1967 and 1989 as a classroom teacher and deputy principal at Werribee Secondary College.
While she admits she was probably seen as a bit of a “fearsome” educator in her time, Mrs Cameron, who never had children of her own, said she loved being with students.
“Even when I was in administration, I never wanted to be alienated from them – they were the reason I was there,” she says.
She still sees former students on the streets, now adults themselves, who just can’t help but acknowledge her as “Mrs Cameron”.
Mrs Cameron thinks the latest edition of her cookbook is likely to be her last, but she’s content knowing she was involved in reflecting and shaping the trends of Australian cooking.
And while she considers the slight possibility of working on an eighth edition in the years ahead, she loves indulging her other passions, especially her role as founder of the 35-member Werribee Wagtails bird-watching club. It’s a passion she shares with a photo-fanatical partner with failing eyesight who allows her to position his camera before he takes a shot as they document the owls, lorikeets and ducks they happen to see.
