Canterbury grandmother pens cook book for children

Canterbury author Sue Heazlewood has followed up her recent award-winning Tails of Tangleby Gardens book series with her latest offering - Tea Party Recipes.

The book is part of an ongoing commitment by the Ohoka author to produce one children’s and an adult cook book each year.

Her latest children’s story/cook book focuses on 24 recipes, with photography and illustrations, and is designed to help children learn to create in the kitchen.

It all started for this known property developer, back in 2015 when while on holiday she says she got bored one day and decided to write a children's story book.

‘‘When I finished I discovered I enjoyed the experience so much, I wanted to write more, so I sat down and wrote an adult cook book.’’

The popular Tails of Tangleby series was inspired by the oversized playhouse Heazlewood built on her expansive garden in Ohoka for her six children, hoping they would have some grandchildren for her to spoil in the coming years.

In the meantime the grandmother of three is writing books combining her passion for children, cooking and gardening.

‘‘I was in the tree house one day when I thought, kids love Peter Rabbit so let’s create stories about the animals who have come out to live in Ohoka from the city. Detailing their adventures and discovering what they cooked as they went along on their journey.’’

The tales tell the story of two delightful little rabbits and a host of friends including frogs and hedgehogs, discovering the world around them through travel, exploration and food.

‘‘The books are so popular they have become bonding books between generations.

‘‘Grandparents have them in their homes already for when their grandchildren come to stay.

‘‘The books are read at night-time and the next day the children want to cook the recipes,’’ she says.

She has also launched an online Kids' Club through her website that includes lots of recipes, crafts, activities and a competition every month.

Two of her books have recently won awards.

A Table at Tangleby Gardens was judged the best entertaining cookbook at last year’s Gourmand World Cookbook awards, while Tails of Tangleby 2 picked up the best children’s recipe book in Oceania award at the same event.

The Gourmand Awards are the major food culture event in the world, which started in 1995 for authors of cookbooks and wine books, at Frankfurt Book Fair.

Heazlewood continues to write using the farm animals to discover the wider world around them based on her own travels to many exotic destinations.

The next children’s book will see them in the United Kingdom, followed by one about their journey through France and Italy.

Heazlewood says her cats and expansive garden in Ohoka feature prominently in all her books.

‘‘All the photos are taken here on site and the garden might be ready for people to look at it in the new year, it’s a lot of hard work juggling writing and gardening.’’

Tea Party Recipes is available from book stores locally and at tangleby.co.nz.