Margaret River mum puts future food in focus

A family conversation about the rise of consumerism, and a long time passion for delivering delicious food with a hearty helping of love, has led to the publication of a new cookbook by Margaret River mum, Maria White.

“When Milla, my youngest daughter, said ‘don’t buy stuff for Christmas, everyone has too much stuff, why don’t you make something instead’… that’s how it started, as an idea for family Christmas presents,” Maria explained.

A 3am brainwave led to the idea for a cookbook, gathering a collection of Maria’s favourite recipes as a keepsake for her parents, children and grandchildren.

Meanwhile, Maria’s son and daughter in law had welcomed baby Florence, sparking regular weekend trips to Mandurah to see the new addition.

“I thought the most helpful thing I could do for Nat and Liam when visiting was to bring dinner, so I’d make Osso Bucco or a Chicken Pie after I finished work on Friday, ready to take from Margaret River to Mandurah on Saturday morning.

“That’s when it dawned on me, everything I was making to take, was better the next day.”

With the heartwarming theme and the book title taken care of, Maria set about evolving the idea until Better The Next Day became “a beast with a life of its own”.

“I’ve always taken photos of food and things I find pretty or interesting,” she said.

“I realised [when] creating backgrounds and writing recipes, I had thousands of images to choose from.”

Maria spent seven months writing a whopping 170 recipes, with even more work going into the design and editing of 313 pages before she set out to find a printing company to help turn the idea into a reality.

She established a strong relationship with West Perth printing company, Glide Print, and soon sold out of her first run of 100 companies thanks to enthusiastic locals.

Now, another 200 books are on the way, with her second print run landing in time for Christmas.

“I’ll be at the Cowaramup Christmas Fair on November 30, and I’m creating gift boxes with a signed copy of the book, a Providore risotto mix and Vasse Virgin olive oil, along with a gift tag that has shopping ingredients and reference to the page number the recipe is on,” Maria said.

As well as the Christmas Fair, Maria’s book can be found at Margaret River Gourmet Meats and the Margaret River Bookshop, with plans to add more stockists to the list soon.

It is also available online, where Maria’s recipes are featured on her social media pages, with help from her family.

“My daughter Amaya has just started a TikTok account to show some of my food videos, and my husband Shannon has just started one too,” Maria said.

Next on Maria’s to-do-list: developing her next cookbook, Better The Next Day Kids, featuring ideas for birthday parties, share platters and meals for adults which can be used the next day for kids meals.

Then, it’s a French-inspired collection of classics and bistro recipes, which Maria plans to write and photograph alongside a planned trip to France with the family.

Better The Next Day is available at local stockists and will be on sale at the 2024 Cowaramup Christmas Fair on November 30. Find out more on Instagram @betterthenextday_ or visit tinyurl.com/mrx94xfk