The month of December is what makes getting into the dried fruit game all worth it. One can only imagine the number of orders coming through for kilos upon kilos of raisins, dates, and who could forget our old friend the glace cherry? And as each new box of ingredients lands on the doorstep of a bakery, the sultanas and the mixed peel hold hands and smile, knowing that their destiny awaits them. Their destiny to become that most cherished of Yuletide desserts- the Christmas pudding.

Christmas puddings are churned out during Christmastime at a rate higher than any other period throughout the year. For most bakeries, this process ends once the puds are placed on the counter or in their boxes, waiting to be bought by a nanna preparing to host her family for dinner or a young man who had been sent by a reformed old grump to buy the largest goose in the window of the shop on the corner but had severely misheard the instructions. But at Continental Deli in Newtown, they do not rest until each pudding has been placed gently and kindly and delicately inside of its own special tin.

Canned Christmas puddings are not something that I had ever heard of before, and so when I learnt that pastry chef Lauren Elridge was making them I simply had to find out more- and I wouldn’t take no for an answer. Fortunately, the first response I received from Continetal Deli was a warm and excited “Yes”!

I sat down with Lauren and restaurant manager Michael Nicolian to talk all about the canned Continental Christmas puddings, how they came to be, the process of actually putting a pudding in a can, and what the two of them will be doing this Christmas Day.

To listen to other, less festive episodes of Tummy Treasures then check out the home page here!