A love of food can most certainly take you anywhere, but perhaps an unlikely destination is a remote Northern Territory cattle station. It’s a path down which former Brisbane café owner Wendy Cox has ventured. For those of us who haven’t been lucky enough to try her recipes, she generously shares photos of the sizeable spreads she prepares for the cowboys and girls.
When Wendy decided it was time to have a rest from the hospitality industry, she made some calls and quickly found Tipperary Station needed a cook to fill a few weeks vacancy due to the current cook going on holiday. That was in March 2024, and Wendy has never left. “I just love this lifestyle so much. It’s not fast-paced. It’s just get things done when they get done,” she says.
“Everybody’s friendly. Everybody wants to chat, and I love chatting!”
Wendy’s day starts at about 4:30am, breakfast is served by 5:30am. From 6am to 9am, she’s doing “smoko”. She then makes sure the fridge is stocked for the day with sandwiches, sweets and fruit. 12-3pm, is her downtime. Then it’s straight onto dinner prep, which is served at 7pm. “All I do is cook and talk to people. It’s exactly what I want to do in life.” The number of people at the dinner table varies each day, but it covers staff and tourism guests to the property.
Wendy’s social media accounts are full of fabulous food, cowboys and girls and famous actors who come to the station for a unique holiday experience. Incredibly, Wendy mainly works solo and manages to pull all the meals together with just one fortnightly food order from Darwin. Funnily enough, despite her exceptional skills in the kitchen, Wendy says a simple ham and cheese toastie is always a crowd pleaser for the hungry workers.
“I spend all this time creating beautiful food, and that’s what goes first.”
The station dining room eats about 60 people, but it’s usually closer to 20 or 30 each night. “They all sit together and talk and laugh. Nobody gets their phone out, it just sits on the bench. I just absolutely love it.”
“Dinner is from 7 until 7:30pm, but I’m keen for it to go longer, just so they can sit down and have a chat.”
To look at the amazing spreads Wendy prepares, it’s hard to believe she has a budget. But she does, and it’s strict. “So, if I ask for croissants, it’s always a no! But it’s amazing what you can do with butter, sugar and flour,” she shares.
To most of us, Wendy’s workload seems immense, but compared with owning your own business, she says there’s plenty of spare time to write for publications like Country Life and RM Williams.
And a cookbook called From Cafes to Cattle Stations is also on the cards. Just beware – the recipes will almost certainly cater for larger crowds!
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