Our Heritage
Every occasion should be a celebration and Newcastle's Pudding Lady believes every celebration needs pudding, because pudding is not just for Christmas.
Founded in the late 1970's, almost as a result of the Vietnam War, ours is a story of love and gratitude in equal measure.
The original pudding lady
Dawn, was very close to her brother Peter. While he was away fighting in the war in Vietnam, letters and tape recordings were exchanged, and the background soundtrack to those recordings was the dropping of bombs and the sound of gunfire. Dawn repeatedly prayed for her brother's safety and when he came home safe from the conflict, she wanted to show her gratitude. She started making puddings and selling them to raise money for the church where she found her solace.
Like every tale told of ingenuity and tradition, this has its twists and turns. Dawn had never made a traditional Christmas pudding so she called on an age old recipe handed down from her grandmother, with the addition of her love and gratitude for the safe return of her brother. We continue to use the very same recipe, created by Dawn, for our traditional puddings. We have evolved and modernised our business by adding new lines and responding to feedback from our customers, but the recipe at the very core of who we are has stood the test of time.
For more than forty years...
...we have remained a family-owned business and from humble beginnings we have grown into an iconic and much-loved enterprise developing innovative and luxurious products to suit a contemporary market. Tradition and care continue to drive our evolution. We still select the finest ingredients to craft our puddings to exacting standards - creamy butter from Australian cows, plump fruit grown and dried under the sun, finely milled flour from Australian wheat, farm fresh free-range eggs, distilled spirits made from Australian grown fruits and grains and superior spices from every corner of the globe.
Every pudding is hand finished, wrapped in cloth and tied with ribbon, continuing to excite and delight our customers, as we have always done.
Families create their own traditions and with our expanding variety of choices, you can create yours with a Newcastle Pudding Lady treat, and not just at Christmas. Our range has a pudding for every occasion, whether you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, faith based event, birthday or a new home. We think any excuse for a little indulgence is a good excuse.
Our speciality range has something for every day, whether a rich chocolate pudding full of crunchy Macadamia nuts, rum and plump raisins or a heady mix of whiskey and orange marmalade, creating your own customs for any event is easy. Our tradition and care is instilled in every single pudding we make.
A Touch of Care
It takes a whole community to produce our traditional puddings – farmers, drivers, flour millers, fruit growers, chocolatiers and distillers all working together to ensure our high-quality products are enjoyed by pudding lovers around Australia and the world.
As times have changed, so has our desire to ensure everyone can enjoy the moments shared with pudding. Intolerance and allergies have meant traditional puddings have sadly been out of reach for some. That’s why our range has grown to include sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan pudding varieties.
We have two gluten free puddings - one of which is sugar free - for those who cannot eat grains containing gluten. We worked with the dietitians at Diabetes Australia and with the National Heart Foundation to create tasty new recipes with no added sugar or sweetener. We have found great substitutes to develop our vegan puddings.
We still think of and are inspired by Dawn in her home kitchen, making puddings to say thank you. We have a range of gift packs and other products for you to say thanks too, and congratulations, I'm sorry, I love you and so much more. Our specialty puddings and logs are the perfect gift, packaged with our own brandy custard, vanilla and brandy sauce or rich brandy butter. You can also work with us to tailor a corporate or other gift to suit your needs, style and budget.
Great present for the hard to buy for
Our puddings make a great present for the hard to buy for or the person who seems to have everything. A pudding of sweet port and plump prunes can be enjoyed any day of the year, as are delicious figs saturated in Australian OP rum and mixed with vine fruits. Our sticky date pudding marries Australian honey with rich sweet dates and cooked to just perfect. Serve warmed covered in butterscotch sauce with lashings of double cream or rich vanilla ice cream. What better gift could you ask for than one of complete satisfaction?
Boasting is not our style but it is easy to get excited when we are recognised for what we do. We have been selected as Australia's Best Christmas Pudding in recent times. We continue to develop award winning, hand crafted Australian made products, building on the great tradition created by Dawn all those years ago. We love to hear our puddings taste like Grandma's or evoke memories of hours spent in the kitchen learning secret recipes.
We draw on our own heritage and tradition while remaining inspired by families coming together to create new ones, allowing us to continually develop beautiful, flavourful, hand crafted puddings for every occasion, every day.
The Addition of our Delicious Simply Stirred Range
As described above, Newcastle's Pudding Lady was established in the late 1970’s in the heart of the Hunter Region and Lady has long been recognized as Australia’s premium Christmas Pudding producer with many Australian Food medals being awarded her. With 30 years’ experience behind the brand, it was time to expand into the general gourmet food market and the Simply Stirred brand grew.
Accolades have flowed for Simply Stirred with over 30 medals in Australian Food Competitions, aligning the range perfectly with the Pudding Lady’s exceptional standing. Newcastle’s Pudding Lady and Simply Stirred remain a family-owned and passionately Australian business.
Our award-winning range of multi-use Salad Dressings, Caramelised Balsamics, Marinades and Condiments are just as happy inspiring your salad as they are finishing off the fish or prawns; equally suited to marinating the beef steak or flavouring your favourite stir fry.
The Simply Stirred range has won numerous awards over the years and is sought after around the country. All these delicious products are made here in the Hunter Region, home of the Pudding Lady; and we are proud of the range that we produce.
Simply Stirred products are a pantry staple and can turn every meal into a gourmet experience. They are your kitchen’s secret to elevating any dish from bland to grand!