From a borrowed rolling pin to the tables of Australia
Sometimes Ben and Karen can’t believe the growth of their company Kurrajong Kitchens. Over the last 10 years the popularity of their first baked product seems to have become an Australian staple.
Lavosh crackers are served as a snack food, bread replacement and gourmet treat in Australian households, at parties and even on board the national airline.
It is difficult to imagine that this versatile and elegant cracker bread had such humble beginnings.
Telling their story, Ben and Karen look back to 1993 when - to compliment cheese plates in their small Kurrajong restaurant, they started making Lavosh – an Armenian cracker bread. Ben made an initial batch of 30 with a borrowed rolling pin while Karen sealed the packaging with the home iron.
They soon found demand coming from all places – well beyond their restaurant in the Hawkesbury region of New South Wales - and so developed their company, Kurrajong Kitchens. From this beginning they made a commitment to developing high quality, all-Australian products.
The 30 packets soon grew and now baking over 30,000 packets they have mastered the quality that chefs and their customers expect. The original team of two has grown to 30. “Now we have bakers, packers and office staff on site as well as a fantastic network of distributors nationwide” said Karen. The team at Kurrajong Kitchens pride themselves on baking the best Lavosh and they plan on staying market leader of their great product.
Lavosh by Kurrajong Kitchens is sought after by professional chefs, caterers and families around the country.
A decade on they have expanded their range to include the original Lavosh bread in bite and snack size, and the newly released rolled Grissini breadsticks in three styles - sourdough, rosemary and sea salt, and classic.
They have done their homework to ensure all of the products are baked in the traditional homemade, style, adapting techniques used to bake bread thousands of years ago to suit contemporary lifestyles and tastes.
Ben and Karen now distribute their products to supermarkets and delis. They are set to take Kurrajong Kitchens and their products to the emerging markets.
