Kitchen Window Catering

Nestled in the heart of Central Otago, among landscape painted with the hues of rolling orchards and rugged mountains, lies a hidden gem. Anna Cameron's Kitchen Window Catering has blossomed into a charming cafe within Jackson Orchards, Cromwell. Here you can savour the award-winning preserves that have earned Anna gold three times at the Outstanding Food Producer Awards. The cafe invites you to indulge in flavours crafted with love and local ingredients. It's more than a cafe; it's a celebration of the region's bounty and a testament to Anna's passion for preserving the essence of Central Otago.

Tucked within the dewy orchards of Cromwell, a culinary haven beckons both locals and visitors alike. Anna Cameron’s Kitchen Window Catering has branched out, planting a charming café within Jackson Orchards. “It’s a win-win scenario,” says Anna, and we're not about to argue. 

Anna is an artisan of chutneys, dressings, and preserves, and Jackson Orchards’ fruit, vegetables and herbs can be just about tossed through her kitchen window. What’s more, she’s a multi-year medal-winning producer who clinched gold thrice at this year’s Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards. That her Crabapple Jelly, Lemon Curd, and Nectarine & Ginger Chutney achieved gilded success is no surprise — and we’ll tell you why.

From modest beginnings in 2008, Kitchen Window Catering has flourished from a part-time catering gig. “Two years before preserves, I started catering on a microscopic scale.” Anna explains, “Guests at the events I catered for frequently asked for recipes for the dressings [so I started] bottling dressings and selling at the farmers market in Wanaka.” 

Anna's childhood is coloured with memories of stone fruit, sugar, and simmering saucepans in her mother's kitchen. She credits her mother for inspiring her passion for preserving. " [I] started with a couple of chutneys, jams, and dressings. " Says Anna, still speaking on those early days, “No one else in the area was doing it on a commercial scale — the dressings I made up, the jams from watching Mum.”

Like many of our champions, Anna is no stranger to the herculean task of balancing motherhood with entrepreneurship. In the beginning, she mixed magic out of her Wanaka cottage turned commercial kitchen. By herself, she worked from home while tending to three young girls and still brewed up business. 

Next, she blossomed on the shores of Lake Hawea. Moving to a new home, she registered her home and took over the garage to accommodate her operation. All the while, the demand for her jams, chutneys, and dressings grew.

Today, operations are far more bespoke. After Anna approached Jackson Orchards, they recognised the mutual benefits of housing her business. They built a kitchen on-site, allowing Anna to source fruit directly from the orchards and access a flow of customers, including tour buses and locals. “[I thought about] how many jars of jam it would take to pay a lease in Cromwell.” Says Anna, “Jackson orchards have a flow of people, tour buses, and locals. I [had] been selling my preserves there for quite a few years.” 

The heart of her business lies in its deep connection to Central Otago. Anna believes in supporting local and sourcing ingredients as close to home as possible. “You can pick the fruit and walk it to the kitchen door to get it made," she explains. 

Fostering a network that benefits the region, the café serves more than delicious preserves, food to go, Buddha bowls, salads, and the like. It also serves as a gathering place for locals and visitors, creating a shared space to celebrate good food, great company, and beautiful surroundings.

And after years of running solo, Anna recently welcomed her sister Jude as a business partner and head chef. Jude brings experience from her years in the restaurant industry, having worked alongside Anna in the late ‘80s. With Jude’s expertise and support, Anna can now focus on other aspects of the business, including product development. 

If you’re a Kitchen Window fanatic—and at this point, why wouldn’t you be? Then, you’ll already know of the two new additions to their range. The Quince Chutney and Smoky Tomato Relish are immediate hits. “The quince and apples are picked locally”, says Anna, “The gorgeous smoky tomato relish [has] a lot of different spices including delicious Spanish paprika.”

In addition to expanding the line, they’ve expanded their team with two part-time employees and plan to grow further during the spring to autumn months. The best of times to visit the cafe, we’d say, with Anna highlighting the stunning setting Jackson Orchards will offer. 

From the lightly dusted Crown Ranges to the crisp lake shores of Hawea and today, nestled in an orchard beneath the autumn blooms of Central Otago. Anna and the rest of her team have cultivated a brand synonymous with quality and homemade goodness. Their focus is now focusing on "hunkering down" and inviting people to witness their operation firsthand.

"Over the years, I have done everything, " she says. Yet, the journey is just getting started.

If you’d like to taste what all the fuss is about, you can check out Kitchen Window Catering’s budding online store here. If you’re down south and keen on a visit, you can find Jackson Orchards and the new cafe here.