FINDING THE TASTE OF SUMMER: FROM ORCHARD TO PASTRY

Each seasonal pastry developed at Grizzly goes through a process of testing and tasting by our Culinary and Pastry Team as well as our Management Team. In the peak of summer, we workshop new ideas of how to celebrate the sweet, acidic, and floral flavours of the abundant stone fruit growing in New Zealand. For this summer’s pastry, we’re utilising a subtle bay leaf custard as a creamy backdrop for the bright juicy tang of apricots we’re getting from Jackson Orchards.

Over 50 years ago, Kevin Jackson and his father established their original orchard in Cromwell Gorge growing a variety of stone and pip fruits. The mineral quality of the soil and the heat retention from the high rocky ridges create prime conditions for stone fruit trees. Because the landscape is so hospitable to the particular needs of these fruits, four-fifths of New Zealand’s apricot trees and two-thirds of our cherry and nectarine trees grow in Central Otago. But for this particular orchard, after 20 years of operation, they were forced to relocate due to the construction of the Clyde Dam and the inevitable flooding of their land in the gorge. However, the family was committed to growing beautiful fruit in Central Otago, so Kevin purchased a 30 hectare plot in Cromwell with similar soil conditions to his first orchard and began the work with his son, Mark, to establish the land for a new orchard. 

Today, Jackson Orchards is still family run and grows some of the country’s most beautiful apricots, which we are absolutely thrilled to use in our seasonal danish this year. You can also find their cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, greengages, apples, and pears at their roadside stall just outside of Cromwell. For a taste a little closer to home, stop by Grizzly to try our Apricot and Bay Custard Danish—we promise you’ll understand our excitement about sourcing such delicious stone fruit.