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Monday, February 22, 2016

Book Review: Fremantle's Family Cookbook By Peter Vinci

This is a book review of Fremantle's Family Cookbook By Peter Vinci that was published by Fremantle As It Was in September 2015.

Peter Vinci is a Fremantle local and the founder of the Non For Profit Charity Fremantle As It Was, As We Were. Whilst the cookbook is the brainchild of Peter, it is a collaborative effort, with the recipes cooked by Chef Anthony Farinaccio and members of the community.


This is a beautiful cookbook which is a collection of recipes from the families who migrated from across the world to live in Fremantle, Western Australia.

Those families bought with them the recipes and tastes of their home and these are shared in this cookbook. There are also recipes from some of Fremantle's favourite restaurants like Culley's Tea Rooms, Roma and Capri.

This is a real community project and it shows in every page from the description of the recipes, to the stories of where the dish originated from and the family who created it. There are many photos of the dishes as well as photos of the community of Fremantle.


There is a strong Italian influence to the recipes with over 60 dishes covered from starters, soups, antipasto, pasta, bread, mains and desserts.

The recipes are really easy to follow with fresh ingredients and simple methods so it's perfect for home cook that likes to make rustic Italian meals.

I made the Scallopini veal cutlets with a creamy mushroom sauce which tasted delicious (pictured below, recipe will be shared later this week). Some other recipes I have flagged to make are: Green Olives and Breadcrumbs, Stuffed Artichokes, Spaghetti with Mussels, Chilli Blue Swimmer Crab and the Coffee Granita.


This cookbook is like looking through your family's prized recipe book, it's filled with not only tasty recipes but you get a real feel for where the dishes are from and the families that created them.

Retaining recipes for future generations .... it's such a simple concept and one that makes this cookbook not just a great source of recipes but also a sentimental piece of our local history.

I recommend this book to Western Australian's who want to cook simple and rustic Italian meals at home from tried and tested recipes that have been made with love for many generations.


I give this book 5 stars out of 5

Jarrah Jungle's Star Rating:
1 Bad - I'd rather eat brussel sprouts topped with anchovies than read this again
2 Not Good - I'd rather watch paint dry than read this again
3 Ok - I'm sitting on the fence - its not great but not terrible either
4 Good - I'd give up a bottle of the worlds best champagne for this read
5 Great - I'd pass up a date with Johnny Depp for this read


Fremantle's Family Cookbook RRP $39.95 and can be purchased direct from Fremantle As It Was


Sharing my book review on Good Reads here 


Disclosure:  A big thank you to the author Peter Vinci for providing a hardcopy of this book for review and giving permission to reprint a recipe. As always, all opinions are my own.



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