Makers of Australia’s finest conserves, Cunliffe & Waters simply make things that go with things.

Established by Amanda Cunliffe in 1996, as of January 1st 2016, long time team member Simone, who had been a part of the Cunliffe & Waters family for 20 years, took over the business.

With a well deserved reputation as a producer of some of the finest handmade preserves in Australia, the team have a philosophy to create each batch as if they are making some jars for themselves with a few left over for friends.

Based in the Yarra Valley, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients, all Cunliffe & Waters jams are cooked very quickly in small batches to capture the pure flavours, whereas the savoury range is left to simmer for longer to achieve the perfect flavour and texture.

We caught up with Simone to find out more about the range of delicious, artisan jams, conserves, marmalades, relishes, chutneys, sauces and more.

Who are the team behind Cunliffe & Waters and what made you launch?

The team at Cunliffe & Waters are a dedicated team of cooks with backgrounds in hospitality in both the food and wine industries. All with the passion of cooking old fashioned recipes the way your grandmother or mother used to make, the team keep up traditions of cooking everything by hand with love, using the best locally sourced ingredients available.

What does a day in the life of the Cunliffe & Waters team look like?

The kitchen opens at 7.30am. We have two team members making jams and marmalades in 5 kilo batches over 5 burners, while 2 more members cook relishes and sauces in 20 ltr pans.  We have recently also employed our gorgeous trainee who assists both teams in the kitchen whilst learning the ropes.  Josh is on the road doing deliveries while Simone and Sue pack orders, keep the office running and do tastings when required.  The kitchen is buzzing with food talk, singing along to the radio and supporting each other with all aspects of the cooking. The time flies. We close the doors at 5pm.

What did you do before launching Cunliffe & Waters?

Having recently purchased Cunliffe & Waters from Amanda Cunliffe on the 1.1.16, Simone had previously worked part time for Amanda for almost 20 years tasks including book keeping,  sales, deliveries, markets and was a kitchen hand.  Simone has a diploma in business management and managed an allied health clinic for 15 years. It was always Simone’s life long dream to one day own Cunliffe & Waters therefore when the opportunity arose to purchase the business she was able to fulfil her dream with the support of her husband Josh.  Josh has been involved in the business for the past 6 years as a delivery driver and helped out at markets monthly.

What was involved in developing the Cunliffe & Waters range and can you tell us a little bit more about the cooking process?

Product development includes a lot of research and involves making products that are always slightly different to other products on the market. As mentioned above, there is always a strong focus on reinventing old fashioned recipes that we all remember as children and harnessing fantastic flavours for us all to love and enjoy.

Why is it important for you to try and source local ingredients?

As we are a small manufacturing company we all need to support each other or there will be no manufacturing left in Australia.  We are so lucky to have so many high quality local ingredients available. Our products are all made in small batches with the highest quality ingredients this is why we make the best products in the land.

Based in the Yarra Valley, what do you like to do when you’re not busy with Cunliffe & Waters?

We all love to eat at the fantastic restaurants and cafes in the Yarra Valley and of course consume too much wine!!!

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take three things, what would they be?

Relish/Bread/Wine (if we could have a fourth it would be cheese)