The Story Behind Our Award-Winning Chilli Jam
From a happy accident to multiple prestigious awards, our small-batch jam blends red chillies, peppers, and Scotch bonnet for the perfect balance of heat and flavour. Read how our dedication to quality and innovation has turned this personal project into an award-winning product.
At Boddington’s Preserves, crafting our award-winning Chilli Jam is both an art and a labour of love. Made using a traditional open-pan method, we blend red chillies with red peppers and just the right amount of Scotch bonnet to achieve the perfect balance of flavour, consistency, and heat. Every small batch is carefully monitored to ensure it delivers the exceptional taste our customers now know and love.
The full production process takes about three hours over two days. After preparation and cooking, each batch is left to cool overnight before quality checks are performed the next day. Only then are the jars labelled and packed, ensuring the highest standard in every jar.
Months of testing and refinement went into perfecting our Chilli Jam. We experimented with different chilli varieties, sweetness levels, heat profiles, and cooking techniques to achieve the ideal balance of flavour and heat. This dedication has earned us multiple awards, including a Great Taste Star, Taste of the West Gold, Farm Shop & Deli Show Gold Award, and the Great British Food Awards Silver Award, as well as their South West Winner. In fact, this product took the longest to develop of all our new additions due to its complexity, but we were determined to get it just right. With all the recognition it has received, it seems we did!
The inspiration for our Chilli Jam came from a happy accident. My partner started growing chillies at home, experimenting with recipes for fun. At events, customers kept asking if we would add a chilli jam to our range, almost as if they could read our minds! So we officially launched the Chilli Jam at the Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge, where it quickly sold out and received glowing feedback. Since then, it’s become a customer favourite, complete with elegant gold-foiled labels to match our other preserves.
Initially, our jars featured home-grown chillies from our garden in Cornwall. But as the product's popularity grew, so did our need for more chillies. We grew a season of Scotch bonnets in our glasshouse on the farm in Mevagissey. These chillies are now frozen and ready to soon become Chilli Jam.
Versatility is at the heart of our Chilli Jam. Its balanced heat makes it a natural pairing for cheeses like brie or Cornish Blue, and it’s perfect on sandwiches, burgers, and cheese toasties. For cooking, it makes a fantastic glaze for meats, a spicy boost to stir-fries, or a quick snack when spread on a crumpet. A little goes a long way - though in our house, jars don’t last long!
Winning these prestigious awards has been an unexpected but thrilling honour. Originally, the Chilli Jam was just a personal project, never intended for production. Now, being featured in the Taste of the West recipe book and recognised by so many industry leaders is a reminder of the power of listening to customers and pursuing quality in everything we do.
What makes our Chilli Jam so special? It’s the perfect blend of sweetness and heat, handcrafted in small batches to ensure every jar meets our award-winning standards. Maintaining the perfect spice levels was challenging, but it's this attention to detail that has set our Chilli Jam apart.
