After eight years in the making, The New Zealand Food Allergy Cookbook was officially launched and can now be found in leading bookstores across the country.

MP Steve Chadwick stepped in on behalf of Food Safety Minister Annette King and had a personal interest in the cookbook, as her daughter had multiple anaphylactic reactions as a child.

“This cookbook will help many thousands of families who suffer from peanut allergies, gluten allergies and the like with a wide range of recipes — from breads and pizza to kids’ parties and Christmas. As a mother of a daughter with dreadful food allergies the birthday section is fantastic.”

It is certainly not over-stating the case to say that many New Zealanders live with the time bomb of life-threatening allergic reactions to a wide range of food that most of us would see as everyday — dairy products, eggs, peanuts, wheat, soy, fish, shellfish and the like, she said.

“The good news, however, is that while avoiding certain foods is the only way for some New Zealanders to avoid terrifying allergic reactions, that doesn’t have to mean avoiding favourite dishes.

“That’s why Annette King believes this new book is so important, and she has asked me to pass on her congratulations and appreciation for all the work that’s gone into making The New Zealand Food Allergy Cookbook a reality.”

“There is more work to be done [referring to the work of Allergy NZ and other agencies], but it is encouraging to see projects like this cookbook come to fruition. Annette wants to assure you that NZFSA is committed to helping those who suffer from food allergies and will continue to investigate ways of managing allergens in the food supply.

The New Zealand Food Allergy Cookbook contains over 260 recipes with wheat, gluten, egg, dairy, soy and nut free options.

The idea for a cookbook began a decade ago, when Allergy New Zealand began receiving many requests from its members for allergy-friendly recipes.

At the time, both Ros and Jill were on the organisation’s board and shared a background in food. Ros is both a qualified chef and chef tutor and runs her own business, Spoilt For Choice, which specialises in wheat, gluten, dairy and egg-free products. Jill has a Diploma of Home Science and worked as a caterer for many years.

Both put in a tremendous effort in putting the book together.

“When I first started as chief executive, Mark Coyle was chairman and the first thing he said to me was, cook book,” Penny Jorgensen told the crowd at the launch.

“Not long after, Jane Hingston from Hachette Livre came to see me and said she was interested in publishing a book for food allergy sufferers. I leant over my desk, opened a drawer to pick up the manuscript and handed it over to her. She looked quite surprised!”

Jane Hingston recalled the moment as being somewhat surreal. She acknowledged the input of Sally Cameron, food stylist, and Charlie Smith, photographer.

Both Ros and Jill recognised the incredible amount of work Jane put into getting the cookbook published.