Celebrity cook Maggie Beer out of hospital after falling down an entire flight of stairs at home

SA celebrity chef Maggie Beer reveals how she ‘felt like a guinea pig’ while recovering from an accident that left her in the emergency department.

Celebrated South Australian cook Maggie Beer said she is “learning to be a different kind of person” after surviving a fall down the stairs that saw her undergo three emergency operations.

Opening up about her accident in August, the food icon told The Australian she has been out of hospital for a month after falling down an entire flight of stairs from her home attic.

“When I first came home I’d be up for an hour and back to bed for an hour,” Beer revealed.

“Yesterday, I was up all day without resting – that is a monumental step forward.

Maggie Beer said she is “learning to be a different kind of person” after surviving her terrifying fall. Picture: Artemis Media

“Full recovery takes time and I’m not the most patient person in the world. So I’m learning to be a different kind of person, accepting that things go slowly sometimes.”

The former Senior Australian of the Year has been campaigning to improve food quality at aged care homes, but admits she “felt like a guinea pig” when regaining her own appetite.

“I learned what it was to be fed on a tube, and then wanting to make that transition to real food desperately, but not wanting to eat anything,” she said.

“I learned that without the scent of food and the visual excitement of small plates, nothing was going to make my appetite come back.”

She also said her husband Colin “has not had a grumpy moment” in supporting her recovery.

“We always tease him about being a curmudgeon but he has been amazing, and has been learning to cook,” Beer said.

“He says he knows I’m getting better because I’m wanting to interfere now.”

Read The Australian’s full interview with Beer here.