Prince Edward Island Preserve Company -
Bruce MacNaughton
Bruce MacNaughton began his career in the food business as a waiter. His customers frequently asked him about an ideal gift they could take home from “Canada's Garden Province”. One day while visiting a friend whose family owned a strawberry farm and was in the midst of cooking homemade jam, the idea of preserves as the ‘perfect gift’ from PEI was born. Bruce also had a strong interest in the restaurant business and recognized that, for both of these interests, he would need to know how to cook so he went to Toronto and took a chef’s training program at George Brown College. During this time he continued to research preserve recipes and developed a concept for very high quality preserves using a limited amount of sugar.
On returning to the Island, he opened his first business. This enterprise proved unsuccessful and Bruce was left with 200lbs of frozen strawberries, as well as a number of lessons about business. Without any specific plan, but having to do something with the strawberries, Bruce used a friend’s restaurant kitchen one night to make a batch of preserves. While the first batch was cooking, his friend came by and offered him a glass of Grand Marnier Bruce decided to add the liqueur to the strawberries and the first flavour of Prince Edward Island Preserves - Strawberry and Grand Marnier was created. That year Bruce sold 450 jars of preserves. Now the business produces over 100,000 jars annually but they are all done the same way - in small batches and all by hand using the best quality fruit grown primarily on the Island - so as to maintain its consistent high quality.
The Prince Edward Island Preserve Company is located in a restored 1913 butter factory in New Glasgow. This is a key location, situated on a corner of a major intersection en route to Cavendish beach, Anne of Green Gables
House and near the world famous New Glasgow Lobster Suppers. The production kitchen is in full view so that customers can get a first-hand look at the lengths we go to make our product by hand. Bruce believed that people were more likely to buy what they could try so he made sure that everything in the store that could be purchased was available to taste. Prince Edward Island Preserve Company is recognized as Canada's finest maker of preserves. The company is now working with farmers all across the Island in developing an organic small fruit industry and will introduce new organic products into Japan in 2007.
For more information on the company visit www.preservecompany.com.