When Stephanie Alexander, AO, opened Stephanie's Restaurant in 1976, it quickly became part of Melbourne food folklore, permanently raising the bar for restaurant dining in Australia. As a restaurateur, Stephanie championed small, local suppliers and also grew her own fresh produce. In 1996, her seminal work The Cook's Companion was published, which has since made its way into over 500, 000 kitchens. It is affectionately known as the 'food bible' due to its reliable recipes and in-depth advice. Since establishing Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Foundation in 2001, she continues to inspire school children across Australia to grow and cook their own food. A Cook's Life is Stephanie's personal account of her uncompromising commitment to good food, and how this quest for the best shaped her life and influenced the dining habits of a nation. 'This is an exquisite book, written with an eye for detail and a magical feeling for atmosphere that makes this, when combined with the author's noble modesty, a book of memoirs like no other. Stephanie Alexander's prose is, like her palate, perfect.' Nigella Lawson a a