Margaret Isobel Fulton (6 October 1924 – 24 July 2019)
was a Scottish-born Australian food and cooking writer, journalist, author and
commentator. She was the first of this genre of writers in Australia.
Fulton's early recipes encouraged Australians to alter their traditional staple of "meat and three vegetables" and to be creative with food. She encouraged international cuisine from places such as
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. As the cookery editor of the ''
Woman's Day
''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was fir ...
'' magazine, she "brought these into Australian homes through her articles."
Although she did some television work, Fulton mainly concentrated on writing, because she felt it was her higher talent.
Early life and career
Fulton was born in
Nairn
Nairn (; gd, Inbhir Narann) is a town and royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nairn enters the Moray Firth. It is the tradit ...
in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
on 6 October 1924. When she was three, her parents emigrated to Australia, settling in
Glen Innes, New South Wales
Glen Innes is a parish and town on the Northern Tablelands, in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the centre of the Glen Innes Severn Shire Council. The town is located at the intersection of the New England Highway and ...
.
She was a
Girl Guide
Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...
as a child and leader of the Magpie Patrol in Glen Innes. In her time as a Guide she learned to cook over a campfire.
She began as a cooking teacher at the Overseas Corporation in 1947 and was later promoted to sales manager. She was "partially responsible for the introduction of the pressure cooker to Australia".
In 1954, Fulton, then a "home economist for a leading firm of cereal manufacturers", gave a talk on "cooking with ready-to-eat cereals".
She told the audience that "with more wives and mothers working, speed and ease in food preparation is a 'must'". She continued, "Many women have no training in homemaking, and packaged and ready-prepared foods, like cereals, cake, pastry and biscuit mixes, canned and frozen foods, make life easier".
A selection of "hot muffins made with bran" were handed out, and Fulton told the listeners that "These are quick and easy to make and most economical".
In 1956, over four days, Fulton provided French cooking demonstrations.
Each day was organised with a different "well-known French hostess, resident in Sydney" who "planned a menu, contributed the recipes, helped with the cooking, and arranged the table setting".
Fulton began to appear in advertisements in the late 1950s. She promoted Johnson's Glo-coat floor polish and Johnson's Pride surface polish from her "well appointed Sydney kitchen" in March 1957. Later that year readers of ''
The Australian Women's Weekly
''The Australian Women's Weekly'', sometimes known as simply ''The Weekly'', is an Australian monthly women's magazine published by Mercury Capital in Sydney. For many years it was the number one magazine in Australia before being outsold by ...
'' were told "Margaret Fulton, expert Home Economist" believed
Sellotape
Sellotape () is a British brand of transparent, polypropylene-based, pressure-sensitive tape, and is the leading brand in the United Kingdom. Sellotape is generally used for joining, sealing, attaching and mending.
In much the same way that Sc ...
"is so dependable" in a full-page colour advertisement, which also offered Fulton's handy hints for using the product such as sealing plastic bags "for deep-freezing foods" and binding pot handles. In 1959, Fulton told readers she used Sellotape "each week for sticking my hundreds of recipe clippings into reference books".
Prospective buyers of ''
Woman's Day
''Woman's Day'' is an American women's monthly magazine that covers such topics as homemaking, food, nutrition, physical fitness, physical attractiveness, and fashion. The print edition is one of the Seven Sisters magazines. The magazine was fir ...
'' magazine in July 1964 were promised an "8-page liftout" from Fulton, who was known for her Tuesday cookery class at Sydney's Bistro. Her regular contributions continued throughout the decade with 1968's lift-out full-colour recipe guide to Italian food, which was described by the magazine as "our most exciting ... ever!".
1960s and 1970s
''
The Margaret Fulton Cookbook
''The Margaret Fulton Cookbook'' is a cookbook by Australian cook and writer Margaret Fulton.
It was first published by Hamlyn (publishers), Paul Hamlyn in 1968. It was an instant success. In its first year of publication, more than 200,000 copie ...
'' was published by
Paul Hamlyn
Paul Hamlyn, Baron Hamlyn, (12 February 1926 – 31 August 2001) was a German-born British publisher and philanthropist, who established the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 1987.
Early life
He was born Paul Bertrand Wolfgang Hamburger in Berlin, Ger ...
in 1968 and was an instant success. By 1978 it had sold "more than two-thirds of a million copies".
![Chinese fried rice](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Chinese_fried_rice.jpg)
She returned to the Italian theme with the publication of her ''Italian Cookbook'' in 1973.
''
The Canberra Times
''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times.
History
''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...
'' said the recipes were "simple, tested ... and where necessary adapted to suit the local scene"; however, Fulton was "able to add authenticity to the book by taking a trip to Italy and checking the fare at first hand".
The author was quoted as recommending that cooks "look for the specialty ingredients in a good delicatessen or gourmet section of a large retail stores. Use only the best quality Italian olive oil and when using grating cheese like Parmesan or Romano, buy it in wedges and grate it as you need it."
In October 1973, Fulton was appointed to the federal government's Interim Commission on Consumer Standards, which was formed to "reach as many groups as possible" and "find the areas where action" on standards was "most urgent".
Interviewed in 1975, Fulton provided Italian and Chinese-style recipes for readers. She included in her advice for "young people setting up home for the first time" that they should "buy a couple of really good saucepans and, if possible, invest in an iron oven casserole ... they last a lifetime and these days are so attractive that they can be taken to the table".
Following on from the popularity of late 1970s
BBC television drama
BBC television dramas have been produced and broadcast since even before the public service company had an officially established television broadcasting network in the United Kingdom. As with any major broadcast network, drama forms an importan ...
series ''
The Duchess of Duke Street
''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between the late 1800s and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV period drama '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. It starred Gemma Jo ...
'', set in London between 1900 and 1925, Fulton had a primetime television cooking show of 5-minute episodes based on recipes from the era.
In 1979, her interest in
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...
led to her leading a planned 23-day gourmet food tour, which would include "the finest restaurants" of
Canton, Shanghai,
Tsinan
Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...
,
Tsingtao
Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...
,
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
and
Peking
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
Fulton said the tour would also visit "historical sites... communes, universities, factories and handcraft institutes".
She also hoped there would be "a chance to see acupuncture procedures in a Chinese hospital".
Later life and influence
Fulton was awarded the
Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours "In recognition of service to the media as a journalist and writer in the field of cookery".
Fulton's encouragement of
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...
was recognised as a contributor to the development of
Sydney's Chinatown, where "few non-Chinese" had ventured "before the 1950s".
Fulton was one of the writers who "began serving up Chinese recipes to Menzies' Australia" (recalling the era of
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
as
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
from 1949 to 1966) and, as a result, Chinatown's "few eating houses were seen as a welcome alternative to the spartan cuisine of the times".
In 1998, Fulton was added to the list of 100
Australian Living Treasures
National Living Treasure is a status created and occasionally updated by the National Trust of Australia's New South Wales branch, awarded to up to 100 living people. Recipients were selected by popular vote for having made outstanding contribut ...
by the
National Trust of Australia
The National Trust of Australia, officially the Australian Council of National Trusts (ACNT), is the Australian national peak body for community-based, non-government non-profit organisations committed to promoting and conserving Australia's Ind ...
. The same year, a packaged meals business venture 'Margaret Fulton's kitchen' failed. Fulton had been involved in it with 'Sydney food luminary' Anders Ousback.
In 2006, ''
The Bulletin'' named Fulton in their list of "The 100 most influential Australians". In the citation they described her as someone who "changed the way Australians ate at home". She is, they wrote, "Australia's original domestic goddess. No cookery writer since can claim her blanket influence ... Fulton turned us into foodies."
Interviewed by ''The Australian Women's Weekly'' in 2009, Fulton said:
In 2014 Fulton appeared on an Australian postage stamp as part of the 'Australia Post Legends Awards'. Chef
Neil Perry
Neil Arthur Perry AM (born 29 June 1957) is an Australian chef, restaurateur, author and television presenter. He also is the co-ordinator for Qantas Flight Catering under his company Rockpool Consulting. He also cooks high quality Korean B ...
,
Kylie Kwong
Kylie Jane Kwong (born 31 October 1969) is an Australian television chef, author, television presenter and restaurateur.
Early life and education
Kwong attended Epping North School and Cheltenham Girls High School. As a third-generation Chine ...
,
Stephanie Alexander
Stephanie Ann Alexander (born 13 November 1940) is an Australian cook, restaurateur and food writer.
After studying to become a librarian and travelling the world at the age of 21, Alexander's first restaurant, Jamaica House, opened in 1964. ...
and
Maggie Beer
Maggie Beer (born Margaret Anne Ackerman, 19 January 1945) is an Australian chef, food author, restaurateur, and food manufacturer. Beer is one of the judges on ''The Great Australian Bake Off'' alongside Matt Moran and is also a regular guest ...
also featured in the same stamp series.
Fulton died on 24 July 2019 at the age of 94. No cause was given.
On 30 July, the NSW Premier announced that Fulton's family had been offered a State memorial service for Fulton, which the family accepted.
Family
Fulton had one daughter, Suzanne Gibbs, and two granddaughters, Kate Gibbs and Louise Keats, all of whom pursued careers in food. Kate Gibbs wrote two cookbooks and wrote a third book about Margaret's life, titled "Margaret and Me".
Louise Keats explored Fulton's impact on her own childhood in her illustrated children's storybook "My Grandma's Kitchen". Fulton supported Keats' food career including by sending her to the Le Cordon Bleu school of cookery. Keats later studied nutrition at Deakin University and authored five more cookbooks, crediting Fulton for inspiring her passion for food and cooking.
Honours and awards
* 1983 –
Medal of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
* 1986 – 'diploma of honour' from
Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne
''Le Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne'' (CIVC) is an organisation grouping the actors of the Champagne production and trade - growers, cooperatives and merchants - under the direction of the government.
It is charged with organizing ...
Bibliography
Fulton wrote many books, including:
* ''
The Margaret Fulton Cookbook
''The Margaret Fulton Cookbook'' is a cookbook by Australian cook and writer Margaret Fulton.
It was first published by Hamlyn (publishers), Paul Hamlyn in 1968. It was an instant success. In its first year of publication, more than 200,000 copie ...
'' (various editions)
* ''Encyclopaedia of Food and Cookery''
References
External links
Official website
*
Australian Biography Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulton, Margaret
1924 births
2019 deaths
Australian food writers
Australian columnists
Australian journalists
Australian women journalists
Australian women writers
Australian television chefs
People from Nairn
British emigrants to Australia
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Women food writers
Women cookbook writers
Australian women columnists
Women chefs