Rose Petal Jam

Beata Zatorska recently returned to her native Poland for the first time in more than 20 years. Her base was the small mountain village in which she was raised by her grandmother, a professional chef whose homespun herbal remedies – using fresh ingredients from her own garden and made according to recipes perfected over generations – inspired in Beata the desire to become a doctor. It was a dream she would fulfill with her family’s unstinting support, ultimately establishing a general practice in Sydney.

Accompanied by her husband Simon, Beata spent the summer exploring her home country, travelling tiny roads lined with wild rose bushes, finding castles and palaces in rolling meadows and untamed forests. Beata also rediscovered her grandmother’s delicious family recipes – an extraordinary almanac of traditional Polish dishes.

Rose Petal Jam brings together more than 50 of those recipes in one delightful collection. Recipes for Beetroot-shoot Soup, delicate Pierogi (Polish ravioli), Pork with Caraway and Onion and tasty sweet treats like Apple Pancakes and, of course, Rose Petal Jam reveal the subtlety and variety of Polish cuisine.

But it is much more than a simple cookbook: Beata’s memories of growing up in the Communist Poland of the 60s and 70s intertwine with the couple’s discovery of a modern, vibrant and optimistic Poland, a member country of the European Union. Traditional paintings and poems celebrating the best of this rich culture are scattered throughout. And hundreds of photographs taken by Simon on their travels reveal an unspoiled countryside to rival the better-known rural idylls of Tuscany and Provençe, as well as the impressive architectural heritage of centuries-old cities like Warsaw, Gdan and Kraków.

Rose Petal Jam is part-memoir, part-travel narrative, part-cookbook … and altogether a charming and engaging introduction to a relatively undiscovered world and its people, culture and traditions.

About the Author

Beata Zatorska was born in Jelenia Gora in southwest Poland. She started her medical studies in Wroclaw but graduated from the University of Sydney, and now works as a family doctor in Australia. Her fascination with medicine began on long mountain walks with her grandmother - a professional chef who taught her the use of herbs and wildflowers in cooking and healing. Like many Poles who live away she has kept her country in her heart over the years. When she finally returned to Poland, the first thing she did was leap into a wild rose bush to smell the petals - the scent of her Polish childhood.

Simon Target was born in England, the son of renowned Australian painter Patricia Prentice, educated at Cambridge and is a filmmaker well known in Australia for his documentaries and food programs.