The tenacity of a Gunnedah woman has been captured in a new cookbook.
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The late Doreen Baker is the focus of a chapter in the recently published Tried, Tested and True by Liz Harfull who went on a journey back through time to unearth the treasures buried in Australian community cookbooks and the tales of those behind them.
"My focus was cookbooks produced to raise money for worthy causes, covering a period of about 100 years, starting in the 1890s," Ms Harfull said.
Ms Harfull discovered The Doreen Baker Cookery Book, and the remarkable story behind it, when she was hunting through university and state libraries as part of her research.
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Ms Baker lost her sight at 17 after an operation to remove a brain tumour, but it didn't stop her from pursuing her love of cooking and compiling a cookbook under the umbrella of the CWA.
Despite her blindness, the young woman typed out the recipes from her Braille collection and the book was published in 1967.
"I read about this in the cookbook's heart-felt introduction, which praised Doreen's immense courage and selflessness, as well as her culinary skills," Ms Harfull said.
"In the case of the Gunnedah cookbook, the recipes were mainly Doreen's favourites, which she had transcribed into braille, using a pin and a special frame to laboriously pick out raised dots on thick sheets of brown paper."
She went on to read about Miss Baker in The Land and The Woman's Weekly, and found that the Gunnedah CWA had named its new kitchen in memory of her in 2014. The tale captured her imagination so she dug deeper because "it was way too good a story not to tell".
Ms Harfull contacted the Gunnedah CWA and through long-time member Elaine Kennedy, she found out that Miss Baker's cookbook sold 4000 copies and raised almost $2000 within a year. The funds helped the branch to pay off their loan to build a new premises in Barber Street.
The author went on to interview two of Doreen's sisters, Lorna Riley and Isobel Bond, and a cousin, Judy Baker, who shared their memories of Doreen, and her resilience.
"[Her sight] was taken away from her overnight. I imagine how challenging that must have been but when I spoke to her sisters and her cousin Judy, they said she was never despondent about it. None of the three of them could remember seeing her depressed or down in the dumps," Ms Harfull said.
"I think it's extraordinary a teenager could go through that and have an optimistic view of life and be known as cheerful or patient.
"I don't think there would be too many of us who would be like that having gone through what Doreen went through. She obviously inspired those around her and that's what came through when I was talking to people about the book."
Miss Baker's mother was a CWA member and supported her in her pursuits, modifying the oven dials and scales to make it easier for her to continue cooking.
"She had the kitchen set up so Doreen could cook in it ... They found ways to make it possible for her to do all sorts of things," Ms Harfull said.
Miss Baker's cousin, Judy Baker, from Gunnedah echoed Ms Harfull's comments when she spoke to Australian Community Media, saying "Aunty Clarice" was "quite remarkable with Doreen and what she helped her to do".
Miss Baker even went on to win awards for her cooking in the The Land Cookery Competition and at the Gunnedah Show.
When Ms Harfull looked through Miss Baker's cookbook, she said the recipe for Sago Fruit Pudding "jumped out at me right away" because of a "personal connection".
"The recipe I chose from Doreen's book is the recipe my family makes every Christmas," she said.
"It came from my brother's wife's family. They were CWA members.
"It just felt right for lots of reasons."
The author looked at close to 1000 books during her research for recipes that "represented the book well", "resonated with me as a person, were connected to some memory I had" or were lost to time. But Ms Baker's story was something special.
"It's one of my favourite stories in the book and it's the last story in the book - it's the last chapter. It's a place of honour for me," Ms Harfull said.
"I couldn't have imagined a better way to end the book than with Doreen's story."
Doreen died in 1970 at the age of 40, but her legacy lives on in her cookbook and Gunnedah CWA's Doreen Baker Community Kitchen.
CWA president Coralie Howe said the branch named their kitchen after Miss Baker because "she's so prominent". A number of the members still own editions of her cookbook.
"It's wonderful to see her recognised," she said.
Tried, Tested and True recently placed in the top three in the 2019 Gourmand Awards.
