Maison Therese - Iconic family business

At Maison Therese "Everything is done by hand, from preparing the vegetables
to filling the jars and labeling"

Two Thousand jars of deep magenta-coloured beetroot chutney line up on the kitchen table. Sparkling-Glossy and still warm, they're the source of the nose-twitching smell that wafts along Stoneycroft St, Hastings in a hot Hawke's Bay summer's afternoon. So that even should the visitor miss the black and gold sign distinguishing Maison Therese from neighbouring workshops and commercial premises, there's no mistaking the aromatic trail that leads directly to the door.

On other days the pathfinder will be a nostalgic homely smell of the Dutch-style pickled onions and gherkins that launched this family business 40 years ago and which, still its best-sellers, are now rated by addicts as among New Zealand's food icons. But these days it's just as likely to be a spicy Indian-inspired relish, an apricot chutney, tangy with Indonesian flavours of fresh chili, ginger, and coriander, or prune 'fiesta' with the intrigue of subtle star anise.

They're among a new range of gourmet products making a hit with chefs and other food connoisseurs both in New Zealand and also in Australia where Maison Therese made its first foray into exporting last year. Something entirely different for Maison Therese, the fruit-based products are the latest in a growing range of connoisseur lines that reflects it's innovative redirection over the past three years.

Alongside the new products and upmarket black-gold logo, those years have brought an expansion into the gift market and upper end restaurants and cafes, plus a trebling in turnover.

First indication of the change were products like char grilled capsicums, olives and sun dried tomatoes, Mediterranean-style preserves that fitted comfortably with Maison Therese's focus on pickles and chutneys.

Ideas chief behind the new direction is Monique Bradshaw who took over the business following the death of her brother Paul's death in 2001. Previously involved only part-time, as she raised her and husband Richard's four children. The move wasn't without feelings of trepidation.
" As a child I used to avoid bringing friends home because I was so embarrassed about the smell of vinegar that filled our back yard and house," she says. But a deep sense of loyalty to her parents who began the business and to Paul, prevailed and these days Monique boasts her own 'badge' of her occupation, a set of good strong arm muscles from hours of stirring and labelling batches of up to 90kg of pickles and chutneys at a time.

Because despite the increasing production, everything is still made much as it would be in any home kitchen.
"Everything is done by hand, from preparing the vegetables to filling the jars and labeling," says Monique. "One of the benefits is that being very much hands-on throughout the process, quality control is never an issue and anyway , every batch is tasted before it goes in the jar."

She firmly believes in the health benefits of naturally-made products and there's not a preservative or artificial ingredient in sight. Everything is sourced as field-fresh as possible, preferably-locally, then processed immediately.

" Our philosophy is 'prepared one day, in the jar the next'. we start with good ingredients that are full of flavour and then build multi-layers of other flavours that reveal themselves as you eat."
There are no short-cuts; all the vinegar for example, is infused with bouquet garni and the limes for Lime Chutney take at least 10 weeks to cure before using.

Ask Monique where her ideas come from and she looks nonplussed. How to explain the ingrained food knowledge that is the result of her upbringing? More obvious, are the hours of researching recipes, food trends and raw ingredients, then the donkey work of trialling batch after batch, adjusting until she's satisfied the result is sufficiently" different" to stand out among the huge selection of good quality products already available.

Company administrator David Middleton says Monique is her own most severe critic.
"It takes a lot of people telling her something's good before she's convinced," he says.

Other foodies haven't hesitated. The new fruit chutneys sold out instantly at the Wellington and Auckland food fairs, and many chefs now use Maison Therese products to give a distinguishing edge to their food - as well as becoming regulars in cafe and restaurant shopping lists around the country, the company's products were also used in three different dishes at the Heineken Tennis Open this year.

There are more ideas on the boil as Monique responds to a growing demand for premium products from a known and trusted manufacturer. There's no chance though of abandoning the ever-favourites like pickled onions and gherkins, the colourful crisp vegetable antipasto and ploughmans-style cauliflower pickle that first drew the Maison Therese name(after Monique's mother) to public attention.