General News
10 March, 2026
Local cook in new book
TWO years after winning the Dark Rich Fruit Cake Competition at the Queensland Ag Show, Malanda cook Maree Hamilton has made her way into The New Blue Ribbon Cookbook by bestselling author Liz Harfull.
The book is a compilation of time-honoured recipes that have been tested in competition and features heart-warming stories of diverse cooks all around Australia, including Maree.
It also gives a glimpse into the rich traditions of agricultural shows and their significance to communities across Australia, including the Malanda Show.
It was through competing at the Malanda Show that Maree honed her recipe for the dark rich fruit cake, leading her to qualify for the State finals in 2024.
For Maree, the win was made all the more special because the last time a Far North Queensland cook won the competition was in 2014 by Barb Hapgood, a good friend of hers.
Maree attributes her winning recipe to a tip from the son of the chief steward of the culinary section at the Malanda Show after she just missed out on winning the competition.
He told her to cut the cherries finer. Maree changed the way she added the cherries and the rest is history.
Now, Maree’s story and her Dark Rich Fruit Cake recipe is featured in the new cookbook by Liz Harfull, who has written 10 books including The Australian Blue Ribbon Cookbook, Tried Tested and True, and The Women Who Changed Country Australia.
“Maree came to my attention after winning the prestigious Queensland rich fruit cake competition,” Liz said.
“When I contacted her, she was very happy to share her story and her recipe, as well as some special tips for success. This is incredibly generous when you consider cooks use their own recipe to enter this highly competitive competition, not a set recipe as in most other states.
“This generosity of spirit is in fact one of the things I looked for in all the show cooks featured in the book. I wasn’t looking for the most successful cooks or those who had been competing the longest.
“My focus was people with an interesting story to tell, who have displayed a genuine love of country shows and cooking, and the same generosity of spirit demonstrated by Maree, either as volunteers in their community or their willingness to share their knowledge and secret tips.”
The New Blue Ribbon Cookbook is available online or at bookstores and Big W.
