Cooking with Baz

by Sean Dooley

'Baz and my culinary tastes had, like virtually everything in our lives, moved in different directions. He was a meat and three veg kind of bloke. Me, well, I didn't know what kind of bloke I was.'
Sean's dad, Baz, believes in making the most of the good things in life - beer, races and footy. Sean is a studious, birdwatching kind of guy. When Sean's mum, Di, starts treatment for cancer, it is cooking, of all things, that brings father and son together. Baz starts whipping up Japanese fish parcels and braised lamb shanks with polenta to tempt Di's flagging post-chemo appetite and Sean is impressed.
When Baz gets the bad news that a lifetime of drinking and smoking has caught up with him, it's suddenly Sean's turn in the kitchen . . .
As much about the changing landscape of Australian male culture as it is about losing loved ones, Cooking with Baz will make you laugh and get a lump in your throat, often at the same time. And you'll think about what 'family' really means.

Genres: Nonfiction

325 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do yourself a favour and read COOKING WITH BAZ. You will laugh, you will cry and marvel at the way the people in this real life story deal with the challenges that accompany a diagnosis of terminal cancer. Set in late 90s and early 21st century Melbourne, Dooley writes humourously about Baz’s life as an on-course bookmaker and his participation in the blokey culture of a suburban Sports Club. The story, sprinkled liberally with references to AFL football heroes, past and present, Melbourne Cup legends and notorious Gangland personalities is both highly entertaining and insightful in its depiction of how people in Australia, men in particular, think about and interact with their friends, their families and those in society who are ‘different’. Above all that, it is a story about love, grief, dedication, personal development and a story that reinforces what we already knew - that family is a gift to be treasured. Highly recommended … (thanks Bernadette!)

[Caz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cooking with Baz is a story about being so different from your father growing up but getting the chance to get to know and appreciate your dad while you can.

Sean and his father Barry (Baz) are so different but they come together to support his mother Di through her battle with cancer. Sean is a bird-watching, arts loving guy and his dad Baz is an Aussie larikan who seems single minded in his pursuits of pubs, drinking with his mates and his family in that order. But Baz pulls it together when he takes up the cooking to tempt Di's taste buds and coax her to eat during her treatment. A few years later Sean is there to support and care for Baz during his battle with cancer.

Part autobiography and part memoir this is a very moving book that will have you laughing at the stories, shaking your head at Baz's habits and shed a tear for how much one family can go through.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. Beautifully written with the perfect blend of humour and raw emotion.

[Sally906 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sean Dooley is an Australian author and ABC television comedy writer and a well known (in the birding world) birdwatcher and Twitcher extraordinaire. This is his first dabble at novel writing outside of bird watching themes. While COOKING WITH BAZ is easy to read and an at times quite revealing warts and all look at his family the book just didn’t grab me. Sean takes us back to how his parents met married and raised a family – we are not talking Brady Bunch family here, but a family where there are problems, i.e. Baz drinking, but a deep love and respect keeps the family unit together. Sean’s family is probably not that different to many other average families around Australia. The title is a little misleading – not much cooking occurred with Baz, although the fact that Baz came to enjoy cooking is often mentioned. There is one recipe at the end of the chicken dish that after much trying Baz finally got his wife to eat after her chemotherapy treatment. What this book IS though, is a journey of discovery between a son and his father – and the realization that sometimes you don’t know what you’ve got till its gone

[Tony Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sean Dooley is a warm and funny writer, and there is plenty of that on display here. It may not quite hit the heights of 'The Big Twitch', which I think is an Australian ecological classic, but this has some wonderful things to say about the father-son relationship, and dealing with an encroaching death.

[Tamara Catlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read his other two books and loved them, not only the fact that I can relate to where he was brought up and his life.... but also his sense of humour...

But this book, I was sobbing in parts when I was reading it..... that I said I still loved it...