Food & Drink Awards 2020

Page 18 www.lux-review.com LUX 2020 Food & Drink Awards Established in 2015, Blue Pear Pantry is a provider of delicious homecooked and handcrafted savoury rolls and pies unlike any other. Using only fresh, quality ingredients such as locally sourced, grass-fed beef and free-range chicken, Blue Pear Pantry creates baked goods with such care that you can taste the difference in every bite. Blue Pear Pantry was formed by Deb Graham, who is not afraid to admit that before 2014, she had never made a sausage roll. A former construction manager, Deb was facing the challenges of returning to the workforce after having children and consequently, 2015 proved to be a transformative year. In the same year, Deb ran her first half marathon, a feat that she jokes paled in comparison to starting her own business. In just five years, however, Blue Pear Pantry has won twelve industry medals across their range of beef, chicken and vegan rolls and pies, as well as being endorsed by Coeliac Australia for their gluten-free varieties. Creating her products in her home kitchen and with no formal cookery training, Deb’s accolades and title of Melbourne’s Most Awarded Handmade Pies and Sausage rolls is truly a remarkable achievement. These awards and endorsements are the product of five years of hard work and awareness that Blue Pear Pantry is competing with mass-produced products that have long been flooding the market. However, Deb established Blue Pear Pantry Having never made a sausage roll before 2014, it seems amazing that award-winning proprietor, Deb Graham is the Founder of Blue Pear Pantry, one of the leading producers of handcrafted and homecooked sausage rolls in Melbourne, Australia. Priding themselves on using the freshest, locally sourced ingredients, Blue Pear Pantry set out to be distinctly unique in an already heavily saturated market. In only five years, Deb and the team have made it clear; these are not your average sausage rolls. Sep20328 Blue Pear Pantry Best Handcrafted Pastries Range - Melbourne with a vision of conceiving something different, that stood out from competitors. Beginning with the establishment of close relationships with local suppliers and other local businesses to secure only the freshest and tastiest ingredients for her products, Deb has always considered how she can make the best impact for Blue Pear Pantry. Second only to the deliciousness of her pies and rolls has been the focus on excellent customer service. Whether it be B2B or B2C, each client relationship is carefully managed to ensure the best customer experience, through which staff can gain and use feedback to see how they can develop and improve. Between maintaining an active social media presence, which is currently focused on the Blue Pear Pantry colouring to the delight of children and parents alike, and getting their products into new stores, Deb and her team are working hard to boost Blue Pear Pantry and its reach. Blue Pear Pantry products are available at selected gourmet food stores and selected retailers and cafes across Victoria, and this is only continuing to expand. It has been by no means easy reaching such recognition and success in such a short space of time. Grit and resilience are paramount to starting a small business in a dominated market, and Deb has been lucky to have a good support system of likeminded people around her to see her through even the most challenging days. In 2020, these challenging days have come around much more frequently than usual thanks to the outbreak of Covid-19, which put a halt to most of Blue Pear Pantry’s plans to boost expansion. With retail stores making fewer orders less frequently, Blue Pear Pantry had to adapt, quickly setting up an online store to make up for the decrease in business activity elsewhere. In order to support other local businesses and suppliers, Blue Pear Pantry also increased its offerings to include extra products, as well as partnering with other companies to broaden their delivery zones. As a result, Blue Pear Pantry products are now able to reach most of Metro Melbourne, Geelong and Surfcoast. Whilst Blue Pear Pantry has its visions fixed on expansion across Australia, at its heart it remains a people-centric organisation that is more a family than an employer. Sharing the load with a support team who knows what challenges you are facing always lifts the weight and makes the job a lot more enjoyable. Having faced her own share of challenges, Deb says, “Believe in yourself. Have a goal and a plan how to get there. The plan will change, several times. Love what you do and if you don’t find something else to do.” As she looks ahead to an exciting future, we can’t wait to see what’s next for Blue Pear Pantry. Contact: Deb Graham Company: Blue Pear Pantry Website: www.bluepearpantry.com.au