Today we’d like to introduce you to Denise Stein. She and her team share her story with us below.
Please kick things off for us with some background on the story.
Denise Mary-Callander (M.C.) Stein has strong ties to her families’ roots in Portland, Oregon, where she grew up. Spending time visiting her grandmother Mary picking berries, at a very young age, she developed the skills and craft to make fresh freezer jam and collected an assortment of treasured memories and family recipes. Once Denise had a family of her own, she continued on her family traditions and would stock the freezer with fresh jams and can all of the fresh fruits, tomatoes, and pickles every season. With her kids grown, and a busy career, came the devastating news. You have breast cancer. After successful treatment, it was time to get on with living and back to what I love and enjoy. Being in my KITCHEN
So, with this journey came the launch of Addy’s Jams & Caramels from Callander Farms. Callander Farms is named for my dad’s farm in Prineville, Oregon that he shares with my step-mom Janis, and a very large tribe of animals, gardens, and beautiful creations. In September of 2017, Denise was inspired by the birth of her granddaughter Adeline Denise (Addy) to pass along her traditions. She opened up her kitchen with the company’s mission to treat her customers to the taste of farm-fresh from the field, locally sourced, no preservative, GMO-free pectin, freezer jams, marmalades, preserves, and jellies collection.
In February of 2019, we launched a second collection our fresh Salted Caramels. Living in San Diego, California, Denise has access to seasonal fresh fruits that allow her to be creative with her recipes. Her knowledge of fruits and flavor profiles allows her to create and share her unique preserves that are locally sourced and seasonally based with the freshest ingredients. Each jam and caramel is handmade/rolled, small batched, market-fresh, packaged and delivered to our clients.
Her dedication to the craft was acknowledged at the 2018 Del Mar Fair when her Orange Vanilla Bean Marmalade won Best in Division. This was extra special as developing my marmalade collection was my therapy while enduring cancer treatment, when I couldn’t sleep, when waiting for test results, for radiation, shots, blood work, MRIs’ ultrasounds, mammography, and surgeries. The complications of citrus kept my mind busy and helped to heal my soul.
Denise is a successful businesswoman with an extensive resume, a community leader, a wife, a mother, a grandmother. In addition to her family and business, she dedicates her extra time and efforts at Rady Children’s Hospital as a member of the Del Mar Auxiliary, as a Rotarian in the Rancho Santa Fe Rotary, and was recognized as one of the top 50 Women that Mean Business by the San Diego Business Journal.
Denise understands that no matter how hard life is at times, someone else is facing the same battles and needs to know that there are people out there that understand. By telling her story, by facing her fears, by jumping in and saying “I can help” is the best way Denise knows to empower by example, and for them to know that she’s been there.
Importantly as an entrepreneur who is pursuing becoming a leader in the food industry and jam/caramel market. Her mission is to inspire others while she is currently growing her women-owned small business through distribution at local farmers’ markets, specialty grocers, partnerships, and continuing to build e-commerce sales from her online store. By making creating her jams, she heals from adversity and spreads the love with her products.
One JAM & CARAMEL at a time……
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been. I have an extensive profile and career – Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmcstein/
But upon leaving consulting in 2014, I took a position with a company in San Diego to mover closer to my future husband. I had just passed the 3 1/2 month point in the position when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Upon notifying the company, I was fired on the day I had scheduled my surgery. At that point, I decided that I would no longer at my age at the time of 52, be complexly reliant upon one income and one company. That was when the plan began to be created.
In addition, I have a son who is in the San Diego Regional Center with Bi-polar disorder and autism. This only added to the stress and frustrations of all that was going on. I didn’t know what I was losing at with the diagnosis of what would happen to my son and would I even live.
Please tell us about Addy’s Jams & Caramels from Callander Farms.
As a cancer survivor, I wanted to create a product that would be as healthy as possible and something that brought farm fresh to table with locally made jams, jellies and of course my signature caramels. I wanted to reduce the sugar as much as you can, and source it from fresh local in-season produce, made local, GMO-free pectins, and small-batch freshness that is good enough for my family and my granddaughter the newest product is sugar-free jams with monk fruit that meet keto standards and net-zero carbs for those with sugar issues.
I’m top-shelf product that works hard to let her clients know that you don’t have to settle for just what is on the shelf, try us, here’s a sample, and fresh is what you should expect, instead of something with a three-year shelf life, just because you need strawberry jam. Expect more.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Picking strawberry along the river in Portland, Oregon by the airport with my grandmother Mary. Cleaning those berries standing on her old stool by the sink wearing her old apron that was perfectly ironed. On extra special occasions, I got to hang out in the kitchen with my grandmother and all off my aunts, Nothing like a kitchen full of Hungarian women. It’s the best. Even if they only let me do the dishes 🙂
My grandfather loved his freezer jams, and when they got older and she no longer could make jam, I would make them each there own stash, as my grandfather would get in trouble for eating it all too fast as he loved it in his milkshakes. They had it in there freezer from me till the day they both passed.
Contact Info:
- Address: 3830 Valley Centre Drive, Suite 7055, PMB 204, San Diego, CA 92130
- Website: www.addys.com
- Phone: 8582528183
- Email: meme@addys.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/addysjamscaramels/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Addysjamsandcaramels/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AddyFarms
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmcstein/
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