Cooking for VIPs
Maxine Turkington started cooking before she lost her sight to Stargardt's disease. When she could no longer read her cookbooks, and couldn't find a large print, one she decided to publish her own.
Tell us about your eye condition.
I was diagnosed with Stargardt's which gradually got worse; the end result was a total loss of central vision. I'm registered blind but I do still have a small amount of functional sight.
Have you always loved to cook?
No, not really. I didn't start cooking until I was well into my 20s, but not seriously until I met my husband. We had quite a busy social life which consisted mainly of dinner parties.
When did you decide to put the recipes in your own book?
When I could no longer read cook books I collected my recipes together and chose ones which I could cook quickly and easily and my husband typed them up for me.
I had to give up my business and I was bored and I was trying to think about what I could do. I had all these cook books I couldn't use anymore and found that no one published a large print cookbook. I found I could get funding to produce a book as there was a need for one. The first 300 books I marketed myself as that was my background. I'd just sold the 300 when RNIB took over the publication of the book and produced it in different formats.
Do you get feedback on the recipes?
Yes, it's definitely encouraged people with sight loss to cook and not rely on ready cooked meals. I went through 300 recipes with a scanner, which read them back to me, and I picked those that didn't have too may stages or ingredients and that I knew I could handle myself. I knew the ingredients were available but also healthy, where they weren't I'd change them. The whole point of the book is understanding food and what you, the individual, are capable of cooking so with that in mind they are all marked as easy or moderately easy. You only need to cook a few times then it becomes easy. I meet a lot of people who think they can't cook but they can; I've proved it many times. I've given classes to children and teenagers and we've cooked a 3 course meal together from my book to show that they can do it.
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Cooking for VIPs by Maxine Turkington is available in braille, audio and large print priced £12.95 or as a talking book and in braille from the library.
More recipe books available from the Library
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Women's Institute complete Christmas: over 130 recipes for a perfect Christmas by Sian Cook. Braille 3v; TB 18041
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Kitchen: recipes from the heart of the home by Nigella Lawson. Braille 9v; TB 404300
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Baking made easy by Lorraine Pascale. TB 404609
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Mary Berry's Christmas collection: over 100 fabulous recipes and tips for a trouble-free festive season. Braille 4v; TB 404238
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Delia's vegetarian collection by Delia Smith. Braille 7v.