24 April 2005
ACT CWA member Patricia Nossal took top honours in the national Anzac biscuit bash at the National Museum of Australia this afternoon.
Judges, celebrity chef Margaret Fulton and National Museum director Craddock Morton, homed in on Mrs Nossal's biscuits after tasting the products of seven kitchens from across the nation - baked by Country Women's Association cooks.
The Great Anzac Biscuit Bash featured Mrs Fulton demonstrating how to make the biscuits, with the help of a chef from the Hyatt (which caters for the Museum) and audience member nine-year-old Lauren Clancy of Sydney.
The national event was the final in a series organised by the Museum on April Sundays to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli in 1915.
"The event has been an opportunity to reflect on women's experiences during the war years, and how they supported the war effort," Craddock Morton said.
"It was also a chance to learn how some of Australia's best kitchen whizzes create that national icon, the Anzac biscuit."
As the smell of Mrs Fulton's biscuits wafted through the Museum, Margaret Fulton and curator Kirsten Wehner talked about Australian cooking - and the history of the Anzac biscuit. CWA national president Myra Pincott outlined changes to Anzac biscuit recipes over the years, and the role of CWA women in wartime.
The CWA winners from around the nation are: Mrs Zetta Karay (SA), Mrs Jill Skinner (Queensland), Mrs Shauna Hartig (NT), Mrs Donna Latter (NSW), Mrs Barbara Dinnie (WA), Mrs Lesley Young (Tasmania) and Mrs Nossal.
Cookbooks from the CWA and Margaret Fulton are represented in the National Museum's Nation gallery, in an exhibition featuring Australian cuisine curated by Kirsten Wehner.
For interviews or images please contact Sandy Forbes on 02 6208 5351, 0409 916 481 or Leanda Coleman on 02 6208 5338, 0438 620 710 or email media@nma.gov.au