Annie Smithers is one of Australia’s best-regarded female chefs. She has built a distinguished career in the restaurant world since apprenticing with Stephanie Alexander back in 1984 at Alexander’s acclaimed eponymous Melbourne restaurant. In the past decade, she has worked in regional Victoria, first at Annie Smithers’ Bistrot in Kyneton and, since 2013, at du Fermier (‘From the Farmhouse’), her charming, perfectly formed little restaurant in nearby Trentham (central Victoria).
Robin Cowcher is an illustrator, art director and designer with more than three decades' experience in books, magazines and newspapers. She is both a painter and drawer, and her work in Annie's Farmhouse Kitchen will bring these talents together in evocative watercolours that capture the essence of Annie Smithers' world. Robin's relationship with Annie dates back to her days illustrating a regular column Annie wrote for The Age newspaper, and to that end, Robin is perfectly placed to bring an artist's eye and perspective to the book.
