Conwy Valley boy is the 'Jamie Oliver of jam'

Dec 23 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

Tybalt Melia

A TEN-year-old entrepreneur – thought to be one of the youngest food producers in the region – is being tipped as the Jamie Oliver of jam.

Although youngster Tybalt Melia from Capel Curig only started making jam 18 months ago, he has already exhibited and sold his sticky fruit spreads at a number of local food fairs, including the Conwy Feast and Betws-y-Coed’s Celtic summer fair.

“Tybalt is a real boy who loves gadgets, engines, expensive mountain bikes and so on, but never had the money to buy himself all these things,” explained his mum Lady Alice Douglas.

“I said he’d better find a business and make his own money, so we sat down and created a list of ideas and jam making jumped out because he loves cooking and foraging so it seemed to go together.

“He also had the potential to sell to guests at my bed and breakfast so I gave him a table in the kitchen to use as a mini shop. He started making quiches, biscuits, cakes and jam which went really well.

“He gets lots of inspiration from my family who are all great cooks, including his granddad who gave Tybalt lots of tips about setting points and making sure he sterilised the pots thoroughly.”

The young entrepreneur makes approximately 1,200 jars a year and demand is growing.

His mum added: “His first ever official stall was at the Conwy Feast which was fantastic as he made about £380 in a weekend. He loves making jam, but finds the chit-chat on the stall really hard so his older sister Hero and I help him when he is doing food festivals.

“This year the Conwy Feast gave out goodie bags with his jam in. People are always amazed that he is so young and that he can cook. He is already being nicknamed the Jamie Oliver of jams!”

Tybalt says he sources all his ingredients locally and picks fruit when he can.

He said: “I make a huge range of flavours and often we have to label them Apricot Surprise because they might have apricot, lemons, peach, honey and a bit of vanilla all mixed in.

“My most popular flavours are Cherry Berry, Strawberry and Cranberry, which I make every Christmas, Blueberry and Raspberry and Anglesey Crab Apple and ginger.”

Commenting on his motivation for starting a business so young, Tybalt added: “My sister is a singer and harp player and was making money from selling her CDs and I wanted to earn my own money to buy things for myself. That’s how I began my jam making business.”

Lady Alice added: “I am thrilled for Tybalt that his jam business is doing so well.

“He makes quite a lot of money now but luckily has become a bit more cautious with his earnings and actually has a savings account.”

samantha.castle