When the fire siren sounded across Fish Creek one night, locals watched in disbelief as their beloved football and netball clubrooms burned to the ground.
“It was quite distressing to watch the legacy of our club go up in flames. It was more than just a football club room. It was a place of community,” said Sharon, a long-time member.
In the days that followed, grief turned into action. While catering for a funeral only a week after the fire, Sharon and her friend Anna noticed the incredible array of homemade food being shared.
“Over the course of the afternoon, families came in with their favourite recipes and dishes. We had lost so much history in the fire, and we just looked at each other and said, we need to capture this,” Anna recalled.
The idea for a community recipe book was born. Within 24 hours of a simple Facebook post, more than 125 copies of a book that did not yet exist were sold.
“The community really embraced it. It’s not just a recipe book, it’s a piece of our community,” Sharon said.
The Fish Creek Football Netball Club received a $5,000 Gardiner Foundation Community Grant to help bring the Recipes for Recovery project to life. The funding supported printing and production costs, allowing more funds from book sales to go directly toward rebuilding the clubrooms.
Club Co-President Ray Stefani said the project has helped the community heal while preserving its stories.
“Through the Recipes for Recovery project, we’re capturing the rich culinary traditions and personal histories of local families. The book will preserve these memories for generations and support fundraising for our club’s restoration.”
For Fish Creek, the project is about more than recipes. It is a story of resilience, shared memories, and the enduring power of community.
“Without Gardiner’s help, we could have made the book, but not at this scale,” Sharon said. “Their support meant we could create something beautiful that will help us rebuild and remember what makes this town special.”
Watch Sharon and Anna’s story to see how Fish Creek turned loss into legacy, one recipe at a time.