Why is this Australian cookbook selling for $250?
February 18, 2025 by DarcieBack in 2015, Australian blogger Belle Gibson rocketed to fame after claiming that she beat brain cancer not through modern medicine but rather by changing her diet. She published a cookbook, The Whole Pantry, and developed an app of the same name, promising to contribute a portion of the proceeds from both to charity. After charities claimed they had received nothing and her friends also raised questions, Gibson admitted that her story was fabricated. The publisher halted sales of the cookbook and pulped (recycled) all remaining copies.

Fast forward ten years and Netflix has created a series based on the saga, starring American actress Kaitlyn Dever. This program has spurred interest in Gibson and her cookbook, few copies of which remain. People who obtained the book prior to the story coming out are cashing in, selling copies online for as much as $250 USD. To the 49 EYB Members who have this book on their bookshelves, now is apparently the time to cash in. Morbid curiosity led people like Australian comedian Hunter Smith to hunt down the cookbook.
“I’ve been watching the show like everybody else and a lot of the story featured around the book and it just crossed my mind it would be really cool if I could learn how to cook some Belle Gibson dishes and take them to parties,” Hunter told Yahoo Lifestyle. He passed on spending $250 on the book and instead viewed a copy at the library, taking screenshots of the recipes he wanted to try. Some people say that recipes in the book are actually good – does anyone who owns the book agree?
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