Find information about cooking, cookbooks, restaurants, nutrition, agriculture, provisioning and food studies
This guide will help you explore the story of food in Victoria. Our exhibition Gusto! a culinary history of Victoria, used the Library's rich collections to illustrate the role food has played in Victoria’s history. Likewise, this guide continues to tell the story of contemporary food production and consumption in Victoria whilst placing it in a social, cultural, health and environmental context.
This guide refers to primarily Victorian materials – both in hard copy and digital formats as well as linking to external resources.
Each of the following sections includes a list of useful books and pamphlets, along with links to searches in the Library catalogue for further reading.
The library subscribes to a range of hardcopy and electronic journals. All online resources are available inside the Library, and selected resources are available off site for Victorian members. You can also search for journal articles using the online catalogue. Choose 'Articles' from the dropdown list next to the Search box.
Food - databases covering a wide range of issues relating to food, across a range of time periods and formats. All available from home with State Library membership.
Newspapers are a rich source of information, and many papers are now available online. The Library collection includes hardcopy and online newspapers. For research help, consult our research guides: How to find items in newspapers and How to find newspapers.
This collection includes a wide range of images to illustrate the story of food in Victoria. The Picture research guide will help you get started.
Civilization in the bush, H96.160/560
The indomitable Twid serves a meal. Edna Walling Collection, H99.120/27
Kugelhupf cake recipe ready to serve with Friandises on George II salver. Image copyright Mark Strizic, H2008.11/462
In the Asian Food Market, Victoria St., Richmond. July 1988. Building a country archive, H92.250/289
