At 91, award winning champion cook Voni Muller has become an author, putting all her precious recipes on paper.

They have been published in a new book, My Favourite Recipes.

All money raised from the sale of the book will be donated to the St Vincent de Paul Society.

“My family have been at me for years to put all my recipes together,” she said.

“I had some written in an exercise book but more recently I have sat down and penned them all together.

“My daughter Cathy and granddaughter Alicia went through and cooked all the recipes to make sure they were ok.

“They tried as close to possible to match the recipes - in some cases I would use a pinch of this and a bit of that but we have standardised the measurements.

“I’m very happy with the book - I never thought I would ever have anything like this. It is a credit to Cathy and Alicia and and her husband Pat who put it together.”

In typical Voni Muller style, she dismissed the “famous” tag.

“I’m not famous,” she said “I just enjoy what I’m doing.

“I was introduced to cooking through the shows.

“I took it up as a hobby before I was married.”

And it hasn’t always been a case of taking out the blue ribbon.

“My first entry at the Berry Show was in the jam section,” she said.

“I placed second …. out of two competitors.

“But it didn’t deter me.”

Her competitive cooking was put on the back burner when she got married to her late husband Albert and they had had seven children - Michael, Greg, Patrick, Cathy, Brian, Margaret and David which has since expanded to 23 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.

“I just didn’t have the time,” she said.

“I suddenly thought when the children were a bit older I would enter a cake in the show.

“My first cake was a snow cake and it had to have white icing.

“The next year I entered more and it just seemed to grow each year.”

Eventually jams, pickles, cakes and, of course, scones were on the agenda.

“I used to enter the Nowra Show. Sheila Bowden was my cousin and secretary of Berry Show for more than 20 years and she was onto me to enter there as well.

“So I did, to help out with the entries.

“In the end I thought if I was cooking for one show I might as well cook for them all and had entries in the Valley as well.

“The jams and preserves were easy as they would last through the show season, however the cakes and scones had to be made for each show.”

For more than 35 years it became her routine entering in various shows.

Sydney Royal Easter eventually beckoned.

“I’d go to Sydney Show every year and look at the cakes,” she said.

“Eventually I entered there as well.

“It was always a great time going to Sydney and meeting some wonderful people.

“We would make the trip up on the train to watch the judging.

”I was so lucky my late husband Albert was a wonderful support through it all.”

The honours kept coming, she won the most successful exhibitor at Sydney in the preserves and one of her proudest moments was in 1996, winning the most outstanding exhibitor, in a new oven.

“The week we were getting the entries ready my stove door broke,” she said.

“It could have been a disaster except for local electrician Ian Jorgenson - he saved the day - he came straight over but couldn’t fix it. He got me a new stove and had it in the next day.

“He told me he nearly died when he heard I hadn’t cooked in a fan forced oven before, especially the week of Sydney entries.

“But it all worked out fine.

“That was a proud moment.”

There was also controversy along the way when the judge’s decision to award Voni first place at Sydney in the jam roll was criticised, with claims it had too many turns.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinion I suppose,” she said.

“There was no actual standing rule on how many turns it should have.  It was up to the judge. Mine had three and a half turns, the same I had done in many competitions before and no one ever complained.”

So what is the secret of her success?

“Love what you are doing firstly,” she said.

“Have a passion for what you are cooking. And just keep cooking things over and over again.

“If at first it doesn’t turn out well, try again and again until you get it right.

“Sometimes you have to tinker with recipes to get what you want.

“You pick up little hints and tricks as you go.

“Experimenting is good. And I suppose it comes with experience.”

Her favourite dish?

“Steamed fruit pudding.”

A surprise considering she is so well known for her delicious scones, which she has even held demonstrations of making at various local shows.

She has also been a great supporter of the Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea, for many years holding a function at their Meroo Meadow property.

It was nothing for her to make 23-24 dozen scones and a host of cakes and  preserves for the event.

“It was something I started with Albert in 1995 and continued for 12 years,” she said.

She has also competed in the CWA and Land Cookery competitions, as well as demonstrating scone making for the CWA, various local shows and nursing homes. She even ran a cooking class for adult education.

“I have never been secretive about my recipes,” she said.

“If someone wanted a recipe I gave them everything. I never left out those little secret touches.

“People often ring me up with questions and I try to answer them.

“I love seeing the many entries in the cooking sections at shows. It is great to see so many young people entering.

“I have been lucky I had such a wonderful husband and have had a wonderful life.”

The launch of Voni’s book recently among family and friends also marked the final major gathering at the family’s Meroo property.

It will be the end of an era on July 8 when Pamona leaves the Muller family ownership after four generations and more than 120 years.