Belcour Blue Mountain Preserves Story

 

Hi I am Robin Lim Lumsden,

I have always loved cooking and gardening. My husband Michael has encouraged me to follow my two passions and now we are thoroughly enjoying growing a cottage business that involves making artisan, gourmet, fruit preserves, hot pepper sauces and chutneys, made from all natural ingredients, many of which come right from my garden.

The brand’s name originates from “Belcour Lodge”, the property where we live, which was originally an 18th Century coffee farm. The 7-acre property has been in the family for over 25 years and is situated below Irish Town on the Newcastle Road, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains and is bordered by the Mamee River. The region is internationally known for growing the world’s finest coffee. Our next-door neighbors still operate a small coffee farm.

We have an acre of Ortaniques and different varieties of citrus, an array of other fruit trees: guava, mango, avocado and ackee, as well as half an acre of Sugar Loaf pineapples. Along with most of the citrus and guavas, we also grow fresh herbs: basil, mint, parsley, rosemary and French thyme and try to source produce from a growing network of local farmers in the Blue Mountain area.

 

A few years ago I started giving family members a “Belcour basket” with bottles of chutney, preserves and marmalade at Christmas. My family has been in the beverage and hospitality business, for a long time. My grandfather, Peter Desnoes, was a co-founder of the Red Stripe Brewery, so food and entertaining have always been an important part of my life. My grandmother Mimis Desnoes had a wicked tomato chutney recipe, which became a family favourite and this recipe is the basis for our Belcour Tomato Chutney.

I love to cook with fresh ingredients and we have made a point of not using any artificial ingredients or preservatives in our products. Part of our company’s ethos is our belief in the concept of preservation; Honey, sugar, vinegar, salt and the sun are all time honoured, natural methods of preserving food. Preservation implies a reverence for the sanctity of life, of sustaining our natural resources, environment and our planet.

Building on this philosophy, one day I jokingly said to Winston Ashley, then president of the All Island Bee Keepers Association,  “I’ll buy two boxes of bees from you.” Lo and behold, one Sunday morning, Winston arrived with the bees buzzing in the back of his van. A few months (and a few stings) later we reaped our first crop of honey from our hives and we couldn’t believe how delicious it was, truly  “food of the gods”. With the help of a grant through the PSDP programme in 2007, we were able to expand our apiary to eighty hives.

As we learned more about beekeeping and the health giving properties of honey, we started adding honey to everything we cooked and ate: our tea, cereal, yogurt, glazes, juices, salad dressings and also into all of the sauces, chutneys, and fruit preserves we made. Belcour “Blue Mountain” Honey is a true multi-flora honey; it is a clear, amber colour, with a delicate, fruity, spicy flavour.

Along with our honey, our most popular product to date is our Honey Mustard Hot Pepper Sauce, which is made from Scotch Bonnet peppers, garlic, parsley, lime juice and of course, our secret ingredient….

For the last few years we have been invited to participate in the Observer Table Top (Food) Awards in Kingston. We have been nominated for an award in the “Best New Product Category” for both our Tomato Chutney and our Honey Jerk Hot Pepper Sauce.

We sell directly from out of home and have slowly expanded our distribution to supply a select group of specialty foods stores, souvenir craft shops and cafes. We are just beginning to supply supermarkets and are in the process of developing a website and exports.

At Belcour, we also offer a garden and apiary tour, along with brunch, lunch and teas. These visits are offered by appointment only.

 

Belcour Tea, Garden and Bee Tours in the Blue Mountains

         

 

 

TOUR	SITES / Offer Places shown may be substituted with alternatives at clients’ request	DURATION OF TOUR	NUMBER OF PERSONS	COST per person* not inclucing Agent’s %
				Adults	Children (3-15)
KINGSTON (Capital City)
Belcour Tea and Honey Farm with Art in the Blue Mts	Our house, garden and farm and our Neighbour’s Art Gallery	½ hour from Kingston	(Minimum 4 Adults)	US$20.00	US$10.00
Tour B Under Food/Art and or Blue Mt experience/ or Community or Heritage or Wellness as a stop on one of these	Tea/brunch and a garden tour of Apiary and a wade in the Mammee River.   A stop in at Neighbour Jamagination’s Art Gallery	1-2 hours	Not less than 4		Yes Children can come
			4 – 10	US$36.00 for Tea/ Coffee Bev / Sandwich/scones	US$12
			10 - 15	US$30 per head	US$10.00
Tour C	Lunch or Brunch at Beloour 19 th Century home as well as garden / bee tour and visit to art gallery. Buy homemade Jams and visit to organic lettuce grower, stop in at local bar and wade in the Mamee River	4 hours	N/A
			4-1o	US$ 70	US$
			10-15	US$ 50	US$
Full-day   Tour D   At Woodside   Groups would tour the working coffee Farm and have a lunch go for a walk, bird watch and site see and commune with nature	Lunch or Brunch Stop in at Belcour for coffee and scones to buy some jams, condiments and honey. See art Gallery. Drive up to New Castle, visit Clifton Mount – Coffee estate and house and factory behind Newcastle Army Camp.________ Overnight at Woodside. Stay limited to 12 people US$500 per night for the group Agent’s commission not included. Swim in stream fed pool and walk in farm and garden. Working fire place in old charming family home		N/A		U
			4 – 10	US$70.00 Lunch/ Brunch included	US$25.00*
			10 – 15	US$50.00   Lunch or Brunch included	US$20.00