The Baking Bible Every Kitchen Needs

Georgia Irwin’s entire view of food changed after watching a health documentary with her mother and partner nearly ten years ago.

Since then, the Georgia’s vegan lifestyle and passion for baking lead her to become a social media sensation and author of a hugely successful cookbook The Vegan Home Baker.  

‘My partner, mum and I all went vegan around the same time almost a decade ago after attending a screening of ‘What the Health’ at the Astor Theatre in Windsor. It really opened our eyes to a new way of eating and how we can use our dollar to protect the environment and all living things. We grew up eating dairy and egg free foods and very little meat, so for me it was a very easy transition,’ she said.

Georgia said adopting the lifestyle in their home was easy, it was eating outside of the home that was difficult.

‘Food holds such a strong tie to culture, families and memories, so originally declining food we had loved to share with family and friends was somewhat isolating- but that’s where the passion for recipe writing started and has pushed me to create foods that are just as good as foods we once enjoyed or even better.”

One of the first jobs Georgia had was in a gluten free café in Warragul where she learned the importance of great tasting food and quality control for people who had intolerances and allergies.

Georgia developed a passion for baking when she turned to art therapy as a distraction for her own mental health struggle. She then combined her graphic design skills with her love of food photography and vegan baking to create The Kindness Echoes, which gained a cult following on Instagram and TikTok.

‘When I began baking, I knew that I wanted it to be inclusive for vegans, coeliacs and other allergies. I started with my raw, vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free range. This was very popular, but I was also longing for foods that felt nostalgic to my childhood. This is when I branched into foods that I would find in my local country bakeries,’ she said. ‘I began experimenting with dough, tarts, custards, caramel, cookies, and pastries.’

The social media success led to a cookbook deal with Affirm Press and The Vegan Home Baker was born. The book, dubbed by many as ‘a vegan baking bible’, is a combination of Georgia’s best-selling desserts and savouries from her bakery.

‘I have a whole new appreciation for authors, books and cookbooks after writing one myself. I cannot express enough how much work goes into a cookbook, especially baking or other forms of cooking where the recipe need to be very specific and exact. They are a true labor of love and a gift to the reader,’ Georgia said. ‘The long hours, endless recipe testing and eating leads to something truly magical.’

While Georgia admits she felt stressed and anxious about how people would receive the cookbook, all her worries were put to bed shortly after its release.

‘Within the first weeks, hundreds of people were baking and tagging me. I still receive messages and tags every day from my community baking from it or to tell me how much they adore the book. This gives me a lot of joy.’