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Alexa Johnston
Years ago, the words "Ladies a plate" on an invitation
was a signal for women to get baking. Charmian Smith talks to
Alexa Johnston, author of a new book on the delights of recipes
of a past age.
Once most New Zealand women were expert home bakers, bringing
plates of dainty cakes and tempting treats to community
suppers or family functions.
They entertained each other to afternoon tea with sumptuous
arrays of cakes and biscuits, served from fine china on
embroidered cloths.
They also shared recipes, whether it was between friends,
through Aunt Daisy's radio programme, or in community and
fundraising cookbooks.
Alexa Johnston, a keen home baker since childhood, has
collected traditional recipes from many community cookbooks,
updated them to metric measurements and simple but full
instructions in Ladies, A Plate.
Now a curator and writer, she grew up learning to bake in the
1950s and '60s, and soon loved cooking of all sorts.
In the 1970s, as a feminist, she believed political and
social change were necessary for women to have control of
their own lives, but she still chose to bake as a hobby.
"Feminism is about choice and baking was a choice. For some
women it was a huge relief not to have to bake.
"Now where feminism is, it is still possible to make a
choice, and I think baking is a better way of spending your
time and money than going out and buying stuff - and you end
up with a better result, too," she said.
"When you bake for other people it gives them pleasure as
well. It's a bit of a win-win situation."
However, in the 1970s, when more women worked outside the
home, baking skills began to disappear.
Also, there was not as much time for afternoon teas, where
baking naturally fitted.
Food historians have explained the rise of afternoon tea as a
vehicle for entertaining as a result of women no longer
having help in the house, Ms Johnston said.
"A lot of people had help - these poor 13-year-old girls who
were looking for something to do until they got pregnant and
got married - it must have been a nightmare."
Afternoon tea was mainly prepared in advance and it was up to
the hostess to serve it, so there was no need to apologise
that there was no maid.
It led to the upsurge in sales of cup, saucer and plate sets
and silver tea services and doilies and embroidered cloths,
many of them worked by the women themselves.
"I really respect the skills of these women. It's easy to say
look at that pile of embroidered cloths in the corner of the
op shop, but it took someone a huge amount of time and they
had a lot of other things to do usually.
"The one on the cover [of Ladies a Plate] is one of the most
beautiful pieces of expert embroidery I've seen. The choice
of colour is subtle and padded satin stitch is very fine -
it's beautiful, flawless.
"I wanted to acknowledge those things have given me huge
pleasure, to celebrate the pleasure and fun you can get from
this kind of cooking."
Known among her friends as a good cook and often asked for
recipes, she decided to collect her favourites into one
place, hence the book, she says.
She has included the original measurements, along with metric
for use in today's kitchen.
Little snippets about the sources of the recipes and even
photographs of handwritten recipes or the community cookbooks
the recipes came from add an extra dimension.
Sharing social and personal history is another feminist
thing, she says.
"The stories of our lives all interweave and have some
relation to the social situation we are in and the politics
of where we are."
Recipes from Ladies, A Plate: traditional home baking
by Alexa Johnston (Penguin pbk $45)
