Judy's Preserves famous for their Pickled Onions and also offering Soya Sauce, Salsa, Pickled Gerkins and Sliced Jalapeños.
Who is Judy ? If ever there was a woman who ‘had it all’, Judy Gardner of Tamboerskloof had love, connections and style. Her fashion choices were widely praised and replicated, and the frequent soirées she hosted at her enviable address always seemed to set the trend. When her husband acquired a flailing onion farm, Judy accompanied him to assess the risk of the investment. Where he saw only undersized onions — the evidence of a what had been an unsuccessful harvest season — Judy saw opportunity. Armed with bushels of onions and a secret recipe she had inherited from her Dutch grandmother, Judy set to work in her Cape Town kitchen. Part scientific trial, part passionate study, Judy perfected her grandmother’s pickling recipe to find the perfect South African flavour, until at last, she served her pickles as hors d'oeuvres at one of her famed soirées. Traditionally marinated and with a delicious crunchy bite, Judy’s pickled onions were an instant hit. It was the summer of 1958 and Judy’s Pickles were born. True to her impeccable style and strength of character, Judy never revealed the recipe to anyone outside her immediate family. When a journalist from a local newspaper pushed her to share the secret of her famous onions, he wrote that she “merely smiled demurely with a playful twinkle in her eye”. From Cape Town to London, Judy’s Pickles became a famous addition to any and every gathering. Many tried to emulate her recipe, but nobody could ever adequately capture the home-made flavour of the Gardner family’s flagship onions. As beneficiaries of her legacy, Judy’s daughters expanded the business to include pickled jalapeños, cherry peppers, gherkins and salsa — these too, are homemade using the secret recipe that has been passed down for generations. A woman ahead of her time, Judy’s artisanal entrepreneurship lives on today in the Judy’s Pickles brand, which reflects the trusted family values behind her success.
