THE countdown to Christmas has begun and the good folk at Adamstown Pudding Kitchen have been busy keeping up with demand.
There are so many options to choose from this year, too. Gluten-free puddings; vegan; paleo; double choc cherry; apricot and ginger ... the list goes on.
It's a far cry from the traditional family recipe first used in 1971 by a church member to make a dessert for a fund-raiser, and from which Adamstown Pudding Kitchen was founded.
There's also a variety of hampers available, plus jams, pickles and sauces, and even chocolates. All are made on site, and by hand.
Behind the scenes, though, not much has changed. It all comes down to the people who volunteer their time to make Adamstown Pudding Kitchen tick.
Any profits made continue to be used to support a range of welfare and community programs both here and overseas.
Sales manager Janet Newton says there is a spirit of "Christmas giving and generosity" that drives the kitchen and its many volunteers.
When she refers to the volunteer team as "an army" she is not exaggerating.
"We have had two wonderful ladies who have tirelessly cut and pinked over 3000 calico pudding cloths that we use to gift wrap our puddings," Janet says.
"We have several ladies over the age of 80 who come into the kitchen and cut ribbon and stick labels on our puddings.
"We have a roster of about 10 different men and women who come in and vacuum seal our puddings after they have been cooked [over 8000 puddings].
"We also have a roster of about 15 people who come in every week and measure out all of our dried fruit into batches ready for the staff to use in the cooking process [over 3836 kilograms of dried fruit]."
There are also volunteers who work in the on-site shop and serve customers at the Olive Tree Market every month, as well as volunteers who set up and run pudding kitchen tours and tastings, and who take the time to wrap hundreds of puddings ready to send off to retail partners.
"We also have a volunteer management committee who I meet with weekly," Janet says.
"Our treasurer is a financial controller for a large multinational company and she volunteers her time to manage the finances and volunteers working on our stall at the Olive Tree Market.
"I even received a phone call from one of our younger volunteers, who is 15, asking if he can come in and serve in our shop again this year when school finishes."
This year Adamstown Pudding Kitchen is partnering with Act For Peace and their annual Christmas Bowl Appeal.
"Twenty per cent of all Christmas pudding sales made through the Christmas Bowl Appeal will go to Act For Peace for emergency aid projects overseas," Janet says.
"This year is the first we have partnered with many new retailers and we are a little overwhelmed by the number of orders we have received; they love our story and they love our puddings.
"I feel very privileged to work in such a wonderful place of giving."
Adamstown Pudding Kitchen can be found at Adamstown Uniting Church, 228 Brunker Road, Adamstown.
During December the store is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm, and Saturday, 9am to 1pm. Phone 4952 2724.
BRIMMING WITH HATS
I have no doubt there were a few sore heads in the Flotilla and Yellow Billy Restaurant camps yesterday morning.
And who could blame them for overindulging in their celebrations?
Both restaurants were awarded their first Chef Hat in the 2023 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide.
EXP. restaurant earned their first hat, after years of dedication, hard work and attention to detail by Frank Fawkner and his team.
Muse Restaurant retained its two Chef Hat status (one of only three regional restaurants to be awarded two Hats); while Bistro Molines, Margan Restaurant and Muse Kitchen held onto their respective Hats.
For the greater Hunter Region, a record number of 'Hats' confirms its position as one of the state's culinary powerhouses.
"After a couple of incredibly tricky years the entire industry is so pleased to be able to get back to some sense of normality, and these world recognised awards will really help give the industry the lift they need, and recognition they deserve," Hunter Culinary Association chair Gus Maher says.
"These chefs and restaurateurs have been incredibly resilient, and many have spent their time innovating to stay afloat and plotting how they could catapult themselves back into the spotlight with creative ideas to again tempt us all into dining out.
"The Hunter Region is now a very credible food destination in its own right.
"The culinary scene in Newcastle has been simmering towards something special for some time, and to see The Flotilla attain a Hat will set the scene for years to come, with several of their contemporaries set to join them in the near future."
Added Lisa Margan, of Margan Restaurant: "It's an honour just to get in the Good Food Guide, with the plethora of great restaurants, and gruelling review process, led alone being awarded a Hat.
"Basically, an independent reviewer determines whether a restaurant is worth your time and money.
"So it's great to see these three new additions, and our region being recognised more than I've seen in my three decades in the Hunter."
And if you haven't bought a ticket to Yellow Billy Restaurant's next Kings Table long lunch on Sunday, consider doing so.
It's a collaboration with Piggs Peake Winery.
