Star chef Teresa Cutter on coming back home to Bunbury and what’s next

Star chef Teresa Cutter has returned home briefly to reflect on her upbringing and catch up with family after launching her new cookbook in August this year. Cutter’s book Simple, Healthy Recipes has sold out online, and she’s planning on trying to get stocks in Bunbury available, as presently the only way to buy a copy is through her website. Ms Cutter said she’s enjoyed the freedom of doing it all herself, as this is the first book she’s published through her own company and not through a publisher. “This is the best book I’ve ever done,” she said. “We’ve been published by other publishers before in the past . . . it’s fantastic to have something you have complete creative control over.” Returning to Bunbury to visit family, she was honoured to see her collection of books displayed in the library of her alma mater Bunbury Catholic College during a high-school reunion she attended on the weekend. “It was wonderful going back to the Catholic College, my whole collection of books is in their library, it was great to see that at the reunion,” Ms Cutter said. During her time at home she took a moment to reflect on how her career blossomed from humble beginnings as an apprentice in Bunbury, which she said gave her an edge above other apprentices. “When I started my apprenticeship at the Lord Forrest . . . I got the best training out of Bunbury because it was a small hotel,” she said. “You had to do everything every single day, and as a young apprentice you got to work in fine dining, the buffet, room service, so by the time you’re a second year you can practically run a kitchen. “It was weird when I got up to Perth as I was meeting all these other second-year apprentices that were in a system in a much bigger kitchen or a hotel that were still just on to chopping vegetables . . . they didn’t learn to cook at all.” Now based in Sydney, she still takes time to visit and aims to reflect her upbringing in the South West as best she can, with recipes that incorporate and and are inspired by the beauty of the South West. She regularly looks to local estates and grocers for produce and inspiration, and loves the Bunbury Farmers Market. “Cullen Wines sponsored a few cases for the book launch in Sydney, they’re originally from Bunbury, they’ve got beautiful values with their organics and bio-dynamics, it’s just gorgeous,” she said. “I’ve been shopping at The Farmers Market practically every day, it’s an amazing place, I wish we had something like that in Sydney, I’d go there every day.” Ms Cutter is looking to start her next project as soon as she can, but plans on having some down time over the Christmas break with family.