Pantry full of joy

by Sammi Taylor
9th November 2015

THERE’S nothing quite like the bond between mother and daughter. But for Warrandyte duo Helen and Kirsten it’s more than just family: it’s business.

The mother and daughter are the proud owners of The Joyfull Pantry, a gift hamper company that specialises in gourmet goodies and wine.

More than just a business or profit plan, The Joyfull Pantry is a flexible lifestyle choice for Helen and Kirsten; one that allows them to work closely together from their homes in Warrandyte and nurture that special bond.

“My mum is my best friend. We’d had a few different business ideas, but we both love cooking and we both love food, so [The Joyfull Pantry] seemed like a natural progression, a good idea,” daughter Kirsten says.

“We started the business after we had been making hampers for our friends and family at Christmas time each year. So we didn’t buy people gifts, we started cooking for them instead.”

What sets The Joyfull Pantry apart from other foodie institutions is its guarantee of wholesome and honest products, all sourced locally and made with organic ingredients.

“Our vision is to make everything that we possibly can, except for the wine and olive oil which we source from local producers. We try to keep our ingredients
as healthy as we can, all free
from pesticides and herbicides,
so it’s wholesome. We know the growers, so we know exactly what orchards our products are coming from and exactly what kind
of fruit is going into our jam,” Kirsten says.

“So we support local farmers and producers, and we’re reducing our carbon footprint at the same time.”

The Joyfull Pantry seems to be a little local business that can, with support and orders coming not only from Warrandyte, but from all across Australia.

“We’re always inventing new products to put into the hampers. We spend a lot of time taste testing and going around to farmer’s markets and finding all the products and ingredients, and then coming up with all the recipes, which we have so much fun doing.”

It’s something a little different for Christmas, but the hampers can also be purchased for other special occasions (baby showers, mothers day) and also as gifts for clients or co-workers. And while they’ve got their sights set on conquering the national market for gift hampers, Warrandyte is a place they’re proud to call home.

“We’ve got some great support from the Warrandyte Cellars, where we get a lot of our wine from,” Kirsten says.

“We’re also going to be doing some taste testing at the Warrandyte Market so that potential new customers can try our products before they buy them,” Kirsten says.

You can find more information and make purchases at thejoyfullpantry.com.au