A creative Christmas present has turned into a tasty bit of business for a Rossendale husband and wife team. For Derek & Judith Rice-Jones have transformed their hobby of chutney making into the thriving Heritage Kitchen Range of Preserves. The couple hand make everything from Tomato Relish to Lancashire Pineapple Chutney from their Bacup home — ensuring it’s all free from artificial colours, flavours and preservatives.
They were helped to get off the ground by a combination of PEER Support and the encouragement of friends and family. Says Derek: ”It all started off as a hobby. We grew our own tomatoes and found we had more than we could eat so decided to try to preserve them — hence the idea of making chutneys. Then about five years ago I was made redundant just before Christmas. Of course money was tight and so we made a batch of chutneys and passed them on as presents to friends and family. They went down a storm — the feedback we received was really encouraging.”
“Within a few months I got a job at Salmesbury Hall and started running a little concession stocking the chutneys. Over time we started adding further retail outlets — places like Huntleys Farm Shop in Salmesbury and Riley Brothers butchers in Rossendale — and the business started to take off. So in March last year I decided to go full time.”
Today Heritage Kitchen produces as many as 200 jars a week of their own special recipes and are rapidly building a fan club up and down the county. Part of the product appeal is down to Derek and Judith’s commitment to source as much as they can locally — which has led to some interesting finds. “I discovered a farmer selling Lancashire Pineapples — a kind of golden beetroot, so we developed a Lancashire Pineapple Chutney from it. It raises a few eyebrows when people see the label but it’s turned into a best seller!”
Starting any business can be tough but the couple asked for help and guidance from PEER Support. Andy MacNae worked with Derek and Judith to help develop the business model — looking at everything from margins to suppliers. Says Andy: ”We like to help people transform their dreams into something practical. It’s been great watching Derek and Judith turn their hobby into a business that continues to grow.”
