Sue has always lived by the saying “waste not-want not” and that is how her business Vintage Kitchen Preserves began. Sue forages for fruit and veg around the neighborhood, she’s not afraid to jump into the branches of a mulberry tree, and fight off the thorns or even snakes for blackberries that would otherwise have been wasted. She uses fruit that has imperfections in its appearance that would have otherwise been wasted and turns it into something delicious. Sue hates waste so much that her whole kitchen only contains upcycled and recycled objects.

Vintage Kitchen Preserves was built from tradition. Sue’s Nanna loved to take quirky and imperfect fruit and make something beautiful from it. Sue learnt how to make jam, relish and jelly her when she was a child. When Sue began foraging she refound her love for cooking, using those learnt traditions.

Sue began making jams as a hobby, she never thought anything would come from it, other than joy and delicious products to share with her family and friends. But as her passion grew, so did the quantity of products she made and her loved ones couldn’t eat enough to keep up with her cooking. So, after a suggestion from her kids to begin selling them, that is just what she did, behold, Vintage Kitchen Preserves.

Sue is a valued friend and volunteer of Bendigo Foodshare, she has been donating her time and products for over four years and can make something out of anything we throw her way.

Sue is not a standard warehouse volunteer, although she is a valued one. She takes time out of her hectic life, as a business owner and operator to make products out of quirky and surplus fruit and veg that we receive at the warehouse. The scrumptious products are then sold at The Old Church Growers Market and the money raised goes back into supporting our activities to grow, cook, share and sell food across our community.

Some of the delicious products Sue has created this year include:

Plum sauce
Quince jelly
Roast quince jam
Garlic and rosemary jelly made with apples
Plum jam
Plum fruit leather
Chai plum fruit leather
Rhubarb orange jam
Chai plum spread
Chai plum jam