If you are down at the Perth Royal Show then why not pop past the IGA Fresh Provisions Pavillion and grab your copy of The Butcher Who Bakes and get a signed copy from Grace?

Grace will be in attendance most days between 11:00am and 2:30pm.

You can also see Grace in action as she does some cooking demonstrations and judges the apprentices.

We are so thrilled to have launched the Butcher Who Bakes at Friends Restaurant at the Hyatt Hotel in Perth, Western Australia on 19 September 2011.

With 132 guests present, the night was an absolute success. A variety of guests attended including politicians, radio announcers, corporate executives, Agri-Food industry representatives, Grace’s family and friends.

With Bob Maumill kicking off the night in style, we were regaled with stories about Grace’s many years as a guest on both Curtin and 6PR Radio stations.  Dr Peter Harries loaned his weight to the night, entertaining everyone and sharing his new single, Gracie Mae, written in honour of Grace’s book launch.

Overall, it was a fantastic night and everyone left buzzing and armed with books!

Special thanks to Hugh Buttsworth and Philippe Signer from Stellar Visions for filming and putting this clip together for us.

If you’d like to get your copy of the butcher who bakes, head over to our shop now and make the most of our launch week special.  Prices will be returning to normal retail prices at the end of the week.

Bob Maumill, 6PR and Grace Maiolo

I can’t help but start to feel more than a little excited with just days until I hold the first copies of The Butcher Who Bakes in my hot little hands (special thanks to Vanguard Press) and also our radio campaign starts to wing it’s way onto the airways courtesy of 6PR Radio Station.

We are both like a couple of school girls on prom night…I know it’s an overused metaphor, but completely true…

We’ve been busy getting artwork ready for printing, ordering gift boxes for our casebound hard cover books and ribbons to make them look special.

Friends Restaurant is all in place, with Bob Maumill our official MC for the launch and Dr Peter Harries entertaining us with a rendition of the song he has written especially for Grace’s launch – have to say it does tend to get stuck in your head, so that makes it a good song, right?

We have Studio Classique coming to photograph the event and Stellar Visions will be filming the launch, so we’ll be able to show you pictures and a video of the night.  Can’t wait to see what Grace ends up settling on as an outfit…I know…boring girly stuff!

Then after the launch, we will have one week to charge our batteries before the big week at The Royal Show.  Grace will be doing cooking demos and selling copies of the book from the Meat Pavilion, so if you head down to the show, make sure you pop past and get Grace to sign a copy for you.

Looking forward to seeing you on the road.

Once again, special thanks to all our sponsors – 6PR, Canon Foods, Beaufort River Meats, Meat & Livestock Australia, Master Butchers Limited, L J Hooker Thornlie, and our private sponsors.

For those who are following Grace’s adventure closely, you will be relieved to know that today we went to the printers and locked in our order for The Butcher Who Bakes!

Like a couple of schoolgirls on Prom night, we were both excited and nervous.  However, our fears were put to bed by the very efficient and helpful, Chad from Vanguard Press, who assured us that they were able to meet our tight deadline and to the standards we are seeking.

So, because I know you are all dying to see a glimpse of what this book is going to look like on the inside, I thought I’d post just one spread from the book for you to see.

It just happens to be my favourite spread in the whole book…probably because I am a MASSIVE fan of garlic prawns and Grace’s are the BEST!

Check it out…

SAMPLE SPREAD

We are now six weeks into the production phase of creating Grace’s first cookbook, “The Butcher who Bakes”.

Unlike any other cookbook on the market, Grace’s cookbook will contain a few surprises that are guaranteed to get your mouth watering and also have you going, “Oh, that’s how you do that!”

Suffice to say, we will be presenting you with all the tools necessary for you to know what knives to buy and how to look after them, what cuts of meat to buy and how best to cook them, and how to put together a fabulous table setting.

Grace sincerely is the Butcher who Bakes but she’s also the Butcher that Entertains and is going to be sharing over 35 years of secrets gleaned from entertaining thousands of friends and business associates around her table.

Anyone who has ever been to Grace’s table knows what an absolute privilege it is to dine with her and nobody ever leaves empty-handed.  Usually, they waddle out with plastic containers of food loaded up under each arm.

Grace says the secret to great food is to cook with love.  If you think about the person you are cooking for it will show through in your food.

More soon…

Chicken Rissoles ala Grace

Wow…hard to believe that we are already getting stuck into this project!

This week we photographed one of the menu sets…the book will have 8 menu plans, complete with entertaining guide so you can duplicate what Grace is suggesting. All menu plans are simple and easy to do and will suit most tastes.

This week we covered:

Warm Chicken & Corn Dip

Chicken Rissoles

Baked Pears

Can’t wait for you to see the beautiful Spring table setting that Grace has created that you can recreate so simply and easily!

Grace Macri

After several weeks of planning, we have started work on the photography for Grace’s cook book.

Our first session with photographer, Christine Finlay, was a real hit and we now have an even deeper appreciation for Grace’s tremendous expertise and experience as a hostess and as a butcher.

The Cookbook which will feature a special section on knives – storage, safety, sharpening; cuts of meat – how to choose them and the best way to store them; and Grace’s 8 winning meal and entertainment plans is bound to be a hit with anyone who wants to know how to cook affordable, easy to prepare meals and present them in a way that will turn heads without breaking the budget!

“The way a person presents a meal says a lot about their character,” reveals Grace. “I want people to enjoy cooking and when they see how easy it is to prepare and present food with style, I know they are going to say, ‘I can do that’ because I’ve seen it time and again from the cooking classes I have presented.  People just go away empowered and they make amazing things that they never thought they could,” finishes Grace.

Hayley Solich, Editor of Finally at 40 Life Begins Magazine

“Grace’s rack of lamb is to die for,” says Hayley Solich, Editor of Finally at 40 Life Begins magazine.  ”I first experienced it when Grace hosted my husband and I for our 10th wedding anniversary.  It was mouthwateringly delicious and just fell off the bone.  The photoshoot was no different and the array of food was eye boggling.  Plus I learned just how easy it is to do some of this.  As Grace says, ‘it’s all in the presentation’.  I learned how the chefs make their plates look spectacular just by using some dipping chocolate and adding a sprig of parsley here and there.  Great food, simple to do and Grace truly is a master of simple elegance.”