The Proof of the Pudding.

The Euroa business making Christmas all around Australia just a little bit sweeter.

 First published in North by Northeast Magazine December 2015

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, (author of Don Quixote) wrote “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

Miguel was using pudding as an analogy but the quote stands true for the real thing and succinctly sums up the work of a most unlikely pudding champion tucked away in country Victoria.

Unlike many of us who leave our Christmas preparations till the last minute, in the back streets of Euroa, one Christmas elf has been preparing for the yuletide since June.

Robin Morphet, proprietor of Euroa Fine Foods has been literally slaving away over a hot stove for the last seven months churning out puddings and cakes that will be enjoyed during the holidays all over the country.

Were it not for the numerous trucks delivering ingredients and taking away the final product, none would be the wiser of the amount of industry condcuted from an obscure building, once the egg sorting plant of the now defunct Euroa Co-op.

There is one other tell-tale sign of what’s going on though and that’s the seductive smell of spice, brandy and candied peel gently wafting out the door. “I never get any complaints from the neighbours.” explains Rob though the smell could be akin to torture if one were trying to diet.

Despite the longevity of the business, many Euroa locals are oblivious to the company’s existence as only a very small portion of its produce is marketed under the Euroa Fine Foods brand.

The vast majority of Rob’s work is as a wholesale manufacturer making products to be packaged under other labels.

From pickles to puddings, Rob produces a vast range of products in batches of 100’s to 100,000’s for both local and interstate retailers and wholesalers.

Restaurants, retailers and boutique producers who don’t have the time or setup to produce their own goods sprovide Rob with their recipes and specifications and he makes them accordingly.

A recent order for 35,000 Christmas puddings took Rob and another worker 7 weeks to complete and consisted of more than 14 pallets of ingredients including a pallet of butter, 4 pallets of sultanas and almost 2000kg of eggs. The total order took 46 pallets to ship out.

In the early days of Crown Casino in Melbourne before their kitchens were complete, Euroa Fine Foods supplied the casino with many patisserie items including pie cases puddings and cakes of many variety.

Over the years Rob’s products have graced the shelves of David Jones, Myer and the majority of our major supermarkets but under a variety of different labels and made to different recipes so consumers remain unaware of product’s origin.

Rob’s premium products however are produced under his own label and locals can find his fruitcakes and Christmas puddings at The Weekend Local in Euroa, Fruits N Fare in Benalla, Mitchelton winery, Goulburn Valley Producers Co-op and the Euroa Farmer’s Market in the latter months of the year.

Rob also produces gluten-free cakes and pudding and if in doubt the authenticity of his ‘Matured Brandy’ claim, one only has to sight his kitchen; he has the brandy delivered in 44-gallon drums.

At peak production, the kitchen has produced a semi-trailer load of goods per week but when asked about working around the clock, Rob guffaws, “there’s more to life than working” he says. “Even when we were flat chat, we’d work our arses off for 5 days a week, but I always made sure we had our weekends for ourselves and for family.”

Often easier said than done Rob is quick to point out “look after number 1 because if you don’t, you can’t look after anyone else.”

As well as himself and family, there are plenty of others who have benefitted from Rob’s free time.

As well as being a Rotarian for the last 16 years and a lifetime member of Apex before that, Rob has served on the Euroa Hospital board for the last 28 years with 2 stints as president and was integral in the setup of the Euroa Farmer’s Market.

Rob also worked with the Goulburn Strathbogie Olive Growers Association Inc. (GSOGA) for almost a decade producing their table olives, tapenades and dressing.

After 23 years running Euroa Fine Foods, Rob looks like he was born to bake but prior 1992, Rob was more at home on the farm in Merton than in the kitchen.

The son of a printer and raised in suburban Melbourne, from the tender age of 6 Rob’s heart was on the land so after completing school he went straight to Dookie Agricultural college which he adored.

On completion of his course he found work in the Riverina in mixed farming and worked his way up to farm management.

Rob was in his mid-twenties and managing a property in Rand in NSW when he was diagnosed with liver cancer bringing his management career to an abrupt halt as he sustained extensive treatment in Melbourne.

His recovery took time and property purchased by Rob’s parents at Merton in the Strathbogie Ranges gave him time to rehabilitate by easing into the running of the family farm.

Even today liver cancer survival rates are below 15% so his full recovery without the need for surgery surprised everyone except Rob who never had any intention of dying.

Before long he was not only running the family farm, he had bought 500 acres of his own at Merton and was doing contract work around the district from gardening to excavating, as Rob puts it “I started off mowing lawns and ended up renovating houses.”

Rob’s years spent in Merton were happy ones; he and his former wife raised their two sons Ashley and Guy, both the apple of their parent’s eye.

The 1990’s dawned a testing time for local graziers and the move from farming to baking was made much easier due to the hardship of recent drought and associated difficulties.

Rob’s brother and sister-in-law ran a café and gourmet wholesale business in Melbourne and were looking for someone to make cakes for them.

Rob approached local bakeries on their behalf but they showed no interest and so began an 8 month feasibility study into whether making cakes and pudding might be a better bet than grazing sheep and cattle.

After crunching all the numbers and coming up with a yes, it was just 4 months before Euroa Fine Foods was dispatching its first batch of goods.

During a chance conversation his boy’s hockey match, Rob discovered Longwood local Pete Wetherill was a Melbourne trained pastry chef and suddenly Rob had his right hand man.

For 22 years the pair worked side by side until ill health forced Pete’s retirement, which has dealt a huge blow to the business.

The company’s longevity shows testament to Rob and his employee’s work. It has endured through the insolvency of more than one major customer and changes in regulation, which have seen the demise of many simular small businesses.

At an age when most people are long since retired, Rob shows no sign of slowing up and is optimistic about the future. “I get a lot of satisfaction creating good products and I’m always receiving positive feedback.”

There may also be some anti-aging qualities in Rob’s products, with his consumption of 3-4 servings of his cake and pudding per week “depending on what’s left over.”

A taste for fruitcake and pudding appears to be a recessive genetic however with one of his grandsons not a fan, another he is unable to keep up with demand and the third being to young to know.

Rob attributes his ongoing success to the diversity into new product lines such as jams, pickles and sauces saying “I’m always open to suggestion or request, especially when people have good, ripe, local produce.”

He is a big supporter of local producers and tries to source local produce wherever possible.

“I’ve become more circumspect and less deterred by hiccups” says Rob “and I’ve learn if you’re happy with what you’ve got you’ll go a long way in life.”

After 7 months preparing 100’s of thousands of cakes and puddings, Rob takes a well-deserved break at Christmas but it’s not long before local fruit is ripe and he’s back at it ready for jam making come mid-January.

Whether Christmas is spent with friends or family, unsurprisingly Rob always brings the pudding. “It gets me in the door” he smiles and there’s always plenty to go around.