A 69-year-old charity worker's home-made plum jam is now a fashion must-have, according to a Sunday newspaper.
Each week Sunday magazine, a supplement with the Sunday Star Times, prints a Going Up, Going Down list, in which the magazine highlights current trends and fashion items.
Last Sunday's Going Up list included -
alongside a British cult band, a new range of designer handbags and a TV series - homemade plum jam from the Kerikeri Hospice Shop.
The tip was accompanied by the explanation, "It was taken off the shelves when someone complained to the health department so we're happy to see it back this year".
The jam, made by Gloria Crawford of Waipapa, hit the headlines last year when health inspectors acting for the Far North District Council banned it because it was not made in a registered commercial kitchen.
Council staff conceded that the health risk from home-made jam was minimal, but said once someone had lodged a complaint they were obliged to act.
Mrs Crawford then had to go through a laborious bureaucratic procedure before the shop was allowed to stock her jams again last November. She got the green light for her pickles and sauces the following month.
At the time Hospice Mid Northland said losing the popular jams could cost the organisation up to $15,000 a year.
Mrs Crawford was amused to hear that her jam was now not just a successful fundraiser, but also a fashion icon.
"That gives me a bit of a giggle ... I just do it because I like doing it."
She confirmed that plum jam was her most popular product.
There were often customers waiting when she made her Friday morning delivery, she said. Official approval for sauces and pickles came after another health inspector watched her make a batch of jam and wrote a glowing four-page report.
Mrs Crawford said she was currently starting work at 6am, preparing fruit for freezing, bottling and preserving for herself, and making 50 jars a week for the hospice.
Hospice Shop manager Lyn Cree said it was "marvellous" to have Mrs Crawford's jam recognised nationally.
