‘15 years on and 9 million copies later… NO WONDER I’M AGEING!’
4 Ingredients took the country by storm, now author Kim Mccosker finally has time to pause and reflect
Trudging door to door selling her first self-published cookbook, Queensland mum Kim Mccosker had one simple goal. She couldn’t afford to lose the $26,000 she had punted on her business dream, mortgaging the family home to pay for it.
“It was sheer desperation,” laughs the busy home cook-turned-author, businesswoman, philanthropist and inspirational public speaker. “I was on a mission to repay that money – come hell or high water. And oh my gosh, it just snowballed from there.”
It’s been 15 years since Kim, then breastfeeding the second of her three sons, set out to write “the easiest cookbook in the world” featuring just four ingredients per recipe. “I needed to get good food on the table quickly at the end of
a frantic day,” she recalls. “That’s where it sprang from!” Publishers, agents, editors, distributors and booksellers warned that her idea would sink faster than an under-baked sponge, but the self-taught cook simply refused to take no for an answer. To date, Kim has produced more than 40 cookbook titles, covering everything from children’s celebrations to chocolate cake, gluten-free catering and air-fryer cuisine. Global sales now total around nine million books – several more probably just flew off the shelves – in 26 countries spanning three continents and six foreign languages.
HOME CUISINE QUEEN
Other milestones include
4 Ingredients TV shows, apps, commercial sponsors and kitchenware. “Not in a million years did I dream it would become so successful,” admits the international finance graduate. “Making money was never on the cards, all this was just the result of a really busy lifestyle.
“At the time I was working long days as a NAB financial planner with targets to meet, a husband and two small children. I’d get home and everyone was starving, which was a problem, because back then I was far more versed in the complexities of superannuation than shepherd’s pie! “I looked at a lot of books for inspiration, but all the recipes seemed to have 14 ingredients and asked you to buy and cook a spatchcock at 6.30pm on a weekday evening! If you weren’t making a complicated asparagus custard, what were you doing wrong?”
Baffled, the down-to-earth farmer’s daughter from outback Queensland embarked on an inspired spot of DIY.
“I needed something really simple, so when I couldn’t find anything to help, I decided to write a recipe book myself.”
Like all the best entrepreneurial ideas, it was driven to fill a basic unmet need.
“Originally, when no publisher would take my calls I was devastated. But to be honest that was the greatest gift they could have given me. It means we’ve retained 100 per cent ownership.”
Dynamic and relentlessly upbeat, Kim finds the silver lining in every cloud – even a headline-grabbing home invasion at her Sunshine Coast waterfront home last year.
“It was traumatic, but no one was hurt, thank god,” reflects the 52-year-old, who has since campaigned for tough changes to the Youth Justice Act.
“You know what, it was our fault really. We left a door unlocked and they just cut their way through the screen. But good things have come from that. It probably happened for a reason.”
A grassroots activist, Kim crusades to “give back” in return for her own good fortune. It’s a mission she tries to share with her growing sons Morgan, 20, Hamilton, 17, and 14-year-old Flynn.
Meanwhile, Kim and the 4 Ingredients team, including husband Glen Turnbull, 55, continue to whisk up new schemes. Food snobs may sneer but as she says, “If you put yourself out there, some people will always want to put you down. You’re never going to please everyone.
‘I needed to get food on the table quickly at the end of a frantic day’
DISHING UP NEW DELIGHTS
“But oh my gosh, there’s more need for our books now than ever. Food insecurity in Australia has never been higher. The price of milk, fuel, bread, broccoli – everything is going up. Something that cost you $3 last year is now $10 per kilo. People need help to economise in the kitchen and get simple, quality meals on the table.”
So what’s next? “Watch this space,” Kim smiles, mysteriously. “In business there’s always something. You have to be smart enough to evolve and adapt with the market to stay relevant.
“One in every seven Australian homes now owns a 4 Ingredients cookbook. That’s phenomenal market penetration, but it’s also a challenge to reach the other six.”
“I’ve been very blessed, I think, to earn the trust of the Australian public.” She pauses for thought. “Fifteen years and nine million books, no wonder I’m ageing! This hasn’t just happened, hon. The success of the journey reflects the effort that’s gone into it. There’s been a lot of hard work, determination and tenacity, you know.” For more information and quick and easy recipes, visit 4ingredients.com.au