These aren't just recipes. They're Nanna's scones and Dad's secret marinade and the soup Mum makes when you're crook. They belong to someone, and that someone has a story worth keeping.
Six generations of love, argument, and really good food — pulled from the tin and preserved for keeps.
circa 1965
From Nanna June · Ballarat, VIC
The foundation recipe. Light as air if you don't overwork the dough. Nanna swore by lemonade in the mix and wouldn't hear otherwise.
“Don't twist the cutter, love. Push straight down.” — Nanna June
Christmas 2003
Handed down from Dad · Christmas Day
The so-called secret recipe that he finally wrote down after twenty years of “a bit of this, a bit of that.” The secret ingredient is Vegemite.
“He says it's a secret but he tells literally everyone.” — Mum
sometime in the '40s
From Great Aunt Mabel · via Nanna June
The original card is stained and folded so many times you can barely read it. Fed with brandy every Sunday for three months before Christmas.
“Use the good brandy. She can tell the difference and she's been gone thirty years.” — Nanna
Grampians, 1958
Learnt around the campfire · Pop Arthur
Simple as dirt, good as gold. Flour, water, a pinch of salt, and coals. Pop reckoned the smoke was the most important ingredient.
“Best with golden syrup and a billy tea.” — Pop
every winter since forever
From Mum · “when you're crook”
The one she makes when you're sick, heartbroken, or just having a rough trot. Medicinal properties unverified but universally trusted.
“Ring your mother if you've got a cold. She'll bring soup.” — Dad
every Christmas, no exceptions
From Uncle Rick · argues it's Australian
The annual Christmas debate. Rick will present a detailed argument for Australian origin to anyone who'll listen. The pav, at least, is beyond dispute.
“Don't mention New Zealand.” — literally the whole family
A closer look at the recipes that made us who we are.
Nanna June, circa 1965
From Nanna June → Mum → You
Nanna June made these every Sunday afternoon in her kitchen in Ballarat. Mum learnt them standing on a stool at age six. The mixing bowl is the same one. The tea towel covering the dough has been replaced, but the ritual hasn't.
Every recipe connects to a person, and every person connects to a story. Follow the lineage.
Great Aunt Mabel
the original baker
Fruit Cake
Pop Arthur
the bushman
Damper
Nanna June
the heart of the kitchen
Scones, Fruit Cake
Mum
the nurturer
Chicken Soup, Scones
Dad
the grill master
BBQ Marinade
Uncle Rick
the patriot
Pavlova
You
the archivist
keeping it all alive
New cards pulled from the back of the drawer, finally transcribed and preserved.
before the cards fade...
Everyone's got a Nanna with a recipe worth saving. Join the archive — we'll help you keep them forever.
