Book a taste of la dolce vita

It’s a sweet life in Hedland for former MasterChef Australia contestant and chef Liliana Battle, who released her third cookbook last month.

Aptly named, The Sweet Life, Ms Battle’s new book is filled with recipes of all things sweet as well as snippets inspired by her family.

With two cookbooks under her belt, Ms Battle said she had a clear idea of how she wanted the book to look.

“Many recipes in the book go back a long way in my family, others are renditions of cakes and biscuits I remember attending events from my childhood, such as weddings and family get-togethers, others are Italian twists on classic recipes,” she said.

“The main theme though is that the food is made to be shared, unpretentious, rustic and easy to make for the everyday cook.”

After sustaining an injury, which made her unable to travel to the city to photograph the book’s contents, Ms Battle’s final piece ended up more local than planned.

“The book was shot and styled locally — Locket Photography — and all the recipes were cooked in my own kitchen, which is very unusual with cookbooks,” she said.

“But it ended up being a much more personal way for the book to come together and each picture has a story attached just because it was cooked from my own kitchen, using my linen, plates and servers and many family heirlooms in my house.

“I feel a real connection to this book for those reasons.”

Ms Battle said she encouraged any budding chef to “just do it” and follow their passion into the world of food.

“If you love cooking and aspire to becoming a chef, or writing a book or taking great food photos, or just blogging about what you like to eat, just do it,” she said.

“With anything really, do what you love.

“We only get one life.”