Five questions with former Masterchef contestant Merle Parrish

Mrs Parrish recently celebrated her 90^th birthday with a gathering at the Cudal Bowling club, a function which was attended by more than 100 people.

Having that many guests come and celebrate your life would be no shock to those who know Mrs Parrish either. Born in Cudal in 1932, she has lived in the town all of her life and married her husband Clyde Parrish in January 1954.

It was a passion for cooking which saw her rise to national stardom however. In 2011, she first appeared on Masterchef as a contestant, before she was brought back the following year as a guest judge.

This then led her on a path to writing two cookbooks, titled Merle's Kitchen (2012) and Merle's Country Show Baking (2013) before she had a recipe contribution in the "Great Australian Cookbook" (2015/16).

Closer to home, she was certainly no slouch either.

Mrs Parrish was a member of the Country Women's Association for 68 years and patron of the Cudal CWA up until 2021. She was also a patron and life member of the Cudal Show Society and took her talents to many a show, both at the regional level and of the Royal Easter variety.

As a qualified judge, she meticulously rated the cooking of others for more than 50 at local and regional shows, before hanging up the scorecard in 2015.

So with a lifetime of memories and secrets to share, Mrs Parrish decided to lift the lid in the Central Western Daily's latest 'five questions with...' feature.

Lots of laughter, good clean country living and staying very active in the local community.

My highlight would be being married for over 60 years and then having a very loving family.

Also the family support for me to have the confidence to publish the two "Merle's" cookbooks and my guest appearance on Masterchef.

There isn't a lot that I would "do over again", but don't give up when the going gets tough, always stay positive and when it comes to cooking be creative and try different things outside the box.

Don't give up if you fail the first time, follow the recipe and try again and again.

We have all experienced disappointments with our baking over the years but patience will prevail.

Always stay positive and think "how can I help others" which helps to enrich your own life. Life is not a dress rehearsal.

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