General News
4 July, 2025
Cooking up fun at the library
On the last Monday night of each month, a group of locals break bread together and discuss triumphs, disasters, and important findings in the month’s designated recipes.
Maryborough Library’s Cookbook Book Club provides an opportunity for those attendees to feel inspired, explore the collection and access library services more broadly.
The event began in 2019, prompted by a conversation with a regular library patron who loved to cook, but lived alone and had no one at home to cook for.
Postponed throughout the pandemic, it has since made a comeback and developed into a welcoming and lively forum for participants of all ages and backgrounds.
The recipes come from books selected by library staff, Bec Clark and Kerry Petersen.
Those attending prepare dishes at home and are brought to share their experiences attempting the recipes.
Long-attending member Thelma Herbertson said the club has been a rewarding social avenue.
“I’ve been coming since before COVID. So as a long-term person here, I enjoy the company and the difference between age groups. Most of us go to things where we’re all grey haired, and then you come here and you’ve got young people as well,” she said.
“We used to have a family of two young girls and their mum, they used to come quite often, just before COVID hit, we were going to make something together. It wasn’t just the interactions within here, it was the interactions outside as well.”
Much like libraries, kitchens have historically been spaces where knowledge is handed down and ideas are exchanged.
The group’s youngest member, Irelyn Doherty said the club offers an opportunity to get a head start and expand her confidence as a young person in the kitchen.
“I like coming because it just tests me with new recipes I’ve never made or tried before. It’s a chance for young people to learn how to cook and make new things,” she said.
The more people who join in, the more food is brought, and more to take home afterwards.
Those who wish to attend the Cookbook Book Club event, held on the last Monday of each month from 6-7.30 pm at the Maryborough Regional Library, are advised to bring a container to store leftover food.