Where: Castlemaine, Mount Alexander Shire, Dja Dja Wurrung Country.
Who: Master pud maker Karen Kelly.
Karen, why puddings?
It happened by accident. Grandma handed over the family Christmas pudding recipe to me and started making them for just us. Not long after that, a friend asked me to make puddings at a fundraising stall for Castlemaine’s historic homestead Buda. A year later, at another stall, I sold out in an hour and took orders for 80 more. I registered the home kitchen and went into the farmers’ market scene. Suddenly, I had a business. I now work from a commercial kitchen, make 60,000 puddings annually and employ up to 12 people.
It’s just Christmas pudding?
We make Christmas puddings throughout the year to service the demand of the festive season – with all that fruit, they improve with age. But we also make a variety of puddings 12 months of the year. Winter is very busy for us because it is one of the best times to eat puddings.
How many different varieties?
We make four different flavours, with vegan and gluten-free options on each. The biggest seller is Grandma’s recipe Christmas pudding, packed with Victorian vine fruits, Victorian butter, free-range eggs from Keen’s in Bendigo, bread from the local baker, apples from Harcourt and a healthy dash of brandy and Australian sherry. People also love our date and butterscotch pudding. Then there is the double-choc, orange and Cointreau pudding. For this, we make our own candied orange peel from oranges we buy from The Orange Lady, who’s based near Mildura. Then there’s the cranberry and white chocolate – delicious with our brandy butterscotch sauce.
Where can we find you?
We are always at the Lancefield and Woodend farmers’ markets, we sell through a lot of butchers in Melbourne, regional Victoria and right around Australia. You can also order our puds, sauces and sweet treats online.