Lady Ella of Kalbeeba House

I promise it’s a proper title…

Her name is Ella, and she does indeed live in a house in Kalbeeba. That makes it legit. And she is absolutely worthy of the regal accolades.

As part of our series where we introduce you the team behind the scenes of this book project, we’d like you to meet Ella. She is the epitome of Barossa generosity. She’s a tireless volunteer with the Angaston show where she convenes the floral art categories and has reinvigorated the entire competition with her energy and flair. I first met her as our new neighbour some years ago, and since then we have worked together at the Barossa Farmers Market and across several of our local shows. Ella has such a creative eye, particularly with flowers, but with colour and movement in general. She’s the wizard behind our videos and reels and she has such a sense of fun. (she’s pretty handy with a preserving unit too just quietly). If you see a nice photo on our socials, it’s probably Ella who took it. She’s been such an enthusiastic supporter of the cookbook project since day one, and we are thrilled to have her on this journey with us. Ella has a heart big enough to swallow our entire community, with an energy level to match. Quiet, understated and devoted. We love everything that she does for us. All of it. Every part of it.
She’s a keeper.

The Barossa Cookery Book was created more than 100 years ago by women just like Ella – they were, and still are, the glue that holds our communities together – and not just ours, every community everywhere. To honour their work we need to raise funds to get this project into print.

The original cookbook, in continuous print since 1917, was a war fundraiser that established the Tanunda Soldiers Memorial Hall and the book has been the main source of income for the building ever since.  The building now incorporates Barossa Regional Gallery and holds the culture of our region, and the cookbook, at its heart.  It’s very important to us that the intent of the cookbook be honoured, so we are determined that proceeds from the updated companion will be directed back to the building and the community – just as the original cookbook intended.  We will not be making any profit from this book, which is why we need to raise funds to publish it.

There are many ways to support the project; we have a Go Fund Me campaign currently running where you can donate as much or as little as you choose.  This initial funding is important because it will pay the professional designer, photographer and editor who are currently all working on the project.  There will also be a pre-order campaign that will open later in June.  Pre-orders are important because they give us a prediction of order volume (so we know how many books to print) but also generates the money we need to pay the printer.   So your support, no matter how big or small, helps to keep the wheels turning and get this book into publication.

If you’d like to support our Go Fund Me campaign click here: https://www.gofundme.com/manage/barossa-cookery-book-project

If you’d like to stay updated as pre-order become available sign up to our email list here: https://www.thosebarossagirls.com.au/barossa-cookery-book-project/

We will email you when order commitments are open.

In the meantime, we’ve had some rain today and what a relief that was!  The season break has been very late and with zero rain for about four months, the dust was extreme.    If you were one of the people who washed your car and hung out sheets and towels to bring on the rain – thankyou!
We’d like to order another 25mm for next week, if you wouldn’t mind doing it again?

Thanks Keepers

Sheralee