If there’s one thing that can rival Stephanie Alexander’s enthusiasm for food and cooking, it’s her delight in good conversation.

In fact, conversation has been front and centre in choosing recipes for her book, The Cook’s Table. ‘I want to be away from the table as little as possible, so I have kept last minute stovetop cooking to a minimum,’ Alexander has said. ‘I don’t want to miss the best stories. I am hungry for the latest news and opinions.’

The Cook’s Table is an especially personal collection of recipes and reflections, with Alexander revisiting memorable meals from her own life and travels in each chapter. There’s plenty there to draw from; over the course of 50 years, Alexander’s career has seen her open several celebrated restaurants as owner-chef, write 14 books including the modern-day cooking bible The Cook’s Companion and launch the pioneering Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, which has seen food education take off in school gardens across Australia.

In conversation with writer and food critic Larissa Dubecki, Alexander talks about her food, foundation and five-decade career. 

Books and Ideas at Montalto series sound design and music: Jon Tjhia.