THE PROOF is in the Adamstown PUDDING!

There is no better example of the saying ’many hands make light work’ than the Adamstown Pudding Kitchen, where each year the not-for-profit organisation, located just behind the Adamstown Uniting Church cooks, wraps and sells more than 10,000 Christmas puddings to help a variety of worthy causes.

It’s an impressive feat, fueled by lashings of brandy, quality ingredients and a community spirit that has resulted in more than $1 million being donated to worthy projects since its establishment.

Apart from a closely guarded recipe, the secret to their success is the host of passionate volunteers who give up their time to help out with everything from cooking and wrapping the puddings to working the shopfront and various stalls where the delicious treats are sold.

“We’re making more than 10,000 puddings a year, and they’re all handmade – hand-mixed, boiled in cloth and wrapped up in gift boxes or calico,” Adamstown Pudding Kitchen Sales and Marketing Manager Penny Price said.

“We’re a not-for-profit organisation, and we have just three paid staff, including our kitchen supervisor, but there are also approximately 40 passionate volunteers who we just could not manage without”.

The tradition was established in 1971 when a church member, grateful for her younger brother’s safe return from the Vietnam war, turned to her grandmother’s family recipe to make puddings for a church fundraiser. Almost 50 years later, charity and community spirit are still the vital ingredients in the operation of the Adamstown Pudding Kitchen, with profits going towards a range of worthy charitable causes within the Hunter and further afield.

Of course, its charitable efforts wouldn’t be as successful if it wasn’t for the high quality of its culinary offerings – and these are undoubtedly second to none.

Thrilling the taste buds of satisfied customers across the Hunter and throughout Australia, the Adamstown Pudding Kitchen’s core product – the traditional Christmas pudding, is still cooked using the same family recipe for which the exact measurements and method of combining them is a carefully guarded secret.

The Adamstown Pudding Kitchen has branched out over the years to create low-fat and gluten-free versions, as well as a new range of gourmet puddings with flavours that include apricot and ginger, date, and double choc cherry – superb when accompanied by the white chocolate and fresh cardamom sauce.

“We continue to have our core range of decadent dessert sauces that can be mixed and matched with the puddings as well as a range of gourmet jams, pickles and chutneys that are designed to be seasonal, with ingredients chosen at the markets for whatever is available at the time” said Penny “This year the gourmet range will continue to include the chocolate covered Pudding Bites which are very popular and have also extended the range to include the all-new Pudding Bark which is ruby chocolate mixed with pudding.”

“There are three different types of Pudding Bites to choose from – the Traditional Pudding covered in Barry Callebaut ruby chocolate, an Apricot Pudding covered in white chocolate and the Sticky Date Cups consisting of a dark chocolate cup filled with date pudding and butterscotch sauce – all of which are unbelievably delicious.”

“Of course, there is no better way to say thank you or wish someone a Merry Christmas than with a delicious selection of Adamstown Pudding Kitchen gourmet products. Choose from ready-made hampers or customise your own from our range of puddings, and gourmet jams, pickles and sauces – the perfect corporate gift or Christmas present.”

The Pudding Kitchen is open from July to December, and all puddings are available for purchase at the shopfront located behind the Adamstown Uniting Church. Puddings can also be ordered online at www.adamstownpuddingkitchen.org.au or purchased at select Lifeline stores leading up to Christmas.

Words: Quentin von Essen