Charlotte Foster
Family & Pets

Grieving Maggie Beer finds amazing way to honour her late daughter

Australian culinary legend Maggie Beer and her husband Colin have found a heart-felt way to honour their late daughter Saskia. 

Saskia, who shared her mother's passion for cooking and ran her own business, is about to be honoured in the form of a Churchill Fellowship. 

"It allows people for, say, four to eight weeks, depending on what they envisage doing, of going overseas to find something that can't be learnt in Australia... that's the strength of it, and when they bring it back, they have to give back to the community in large what they have learnt," Maggie told A Current Affair.

"Through the Saskia Beer Churchill Fellowship, the people who are awarded that Fellowship will pay tribute to Saskia's life and continue her legacy through their passion for food," Winston Churchill Trust CEO Adam Davey said.

Two years ago, Maggie and Colin were blindsided by the sudden death of their 46-year-old daughter, who passed away unexpectedly in her sleep in February 2020. 

Maggie said the beginning of the pandemic gave their family valuable time to grieve together. 

"COVID to me was a bit of a gift, to isolate... we didn't want to talk to anyone except for our very closest," Maggie said.

After her daughter passed away, Maggie found solace in the kitchen: a space that they both shared a deep love for. 

"My happy place is being in the kitchen... so it gave me comfort," Maggie said.

Image credits: A Current Affair

Tags:
family & pets, Maggie Beer, Churchill Fellowship, Saskia Beer, cooking