A recipe for community

   From left, Emily Horne, Natasha Moore, photographer Liv Gorman, Jess Letham and Lauren Pearce, part of the team behind A Lauriston Harvest.

A new cookbook from Lauriston School is serving up much more than tried-and-true recipes, capturing the people, memories and community spirit of a small Mid Canterbury school along the way.

There is a particular kind of culinary nostalgia attached to recipes handed down through families.

They are the cakes made for every family birthday, the dish somebody’s grandmother was famous for, or the recipe passed down and still pulled out whenever something trusted and tasty is needed.

Those are the recipes finding their way into a new cookbook, “A Lauriston Harvest”, being created as a fundraiser for Lauriston School.

Lauren Pearce and Jess Letham are part of the team behind the project, which has drawn recipes, memories and plenty of helping hands from across the wider school community.

“There’s a lot of love in it,” Letham said.

Some recipes include notes explaining where they came from, including references to people who are no longer alive, while others have been passed between members of Lauriston School Support and brought out for birthdays, community catering and special occasions.

The idea was first floated at a meeting by local parent Emily Horne as Lauriston School Support searched for a new fundraising project.

“You’re always trying to find an idea that’s a bit different,” Pearce said.

A core group of four took on the project, but they quickly decided they wanted to create something people would keep.

“We didn’t want it to be your standard school cookbook fundraiser,” Letham said.

“We wanted it to be a keepsake more than anything. An heirloom cookbook.”

Professional photography and graphic design expertise within the school community helped bring that vision to life.

  More than a fundraiser, A Lauriston Harvest has been designed as a keepsake celebrating food, memories and community.

Natasha Moore created the design and layout, while photographer Liv Gorman, photographed the dishes, with contributors asked to supply their favourite recipe and make it for the camera.

The photo shoots quickly became a community effort.

“Everyone’s kitchens got raided,” Pearce said.

“We had stand mixers, cake pans, mother-in-law’s linen, everything came out to play.”

There was plenty of taste testing too.

“There were things I probably would have looked at and thought, ‘Oh, that’s unusual’, but then I tasted them and thought, ‘I can’t wait to make that now’,” Letham said.

Recipes have come from beyond the current school roll, including a former principal who still lives nearby, people with longstanding links to the school and dishes traditionally used by Lauriston School Support when catering for events such as Lions dinners.

And while the stories behind the food matter, so does one important rule.

The recipes have to work.

“The committee really pushed for people’s favourites,” Pearce said.

“The ones that you don’t need to look at the recipe book for and that you know everyone will eat.”

That means the book ranges from special dinners and desserts through to bread, crackers and quick family staples.

There are also plenty designed for rural households.

“There’s something you can throw together on a Wednesday when you’ve come in off the farm at five o’clock and you’re thinking, ‘Holy moly, what am I cooking tonight?’” Pearce said.

The community has clearly responded.

More than 200 copies had already been pre-ordered when Rural Guardian spoke to the pair, well beyond expectations.

  Photographer Liv Gorman at work behind the scenes during one of the A Lauriston Harvest food shoots.

The initial print pricing had been based on runs of around 100 to 150 copies.

“We will definitely be increasing that,” Letham said.

“It’s been a really, really positive response.”

Money raised through the $45 cookbook will go to Lauriston School Support.

Each year the group works from a wish list provided by the school’s Board of Trustees, fundraising towards things such as running the school pool, Education Outside the Classroom and other opportunities that enhance pupils’ school experience.

“They’re the nice-to-haves,” Pearce said.

“The things the government doesn’t fund, but that we think are really important for our kids.”

Yet long after the money has been raised and spent, the cookbook itself is likely to remain on shelves throughout Lauriston and beyond.

Pages will become dog-eared and stained and favourite recipes will fall open automatically. Names beside recipes will prompt memories and, eventually, another generation may inherit copies of their own.

Not simply a fundraiser, but a little piece of Lauriston history, preserved through the food its community loves.

A Lauriston Harvest cookbook costs $45. To pre-order, email lsscookbook@gmail.com with your name, phone number and the number of copies required.