Clem Bennett is hoping to retire once he reaches his £20,000 target for jam making for the EllenorLions hospice

by Rachel Hovenden

rhovenden@thekmgroup.co.uk

A pensioner who set himself a target of raising £20,000 for charity by selling home made jam is just £170 away from putting his feet up.

Clem Bennett, 82, began whipping up the jams, marmalades, chutneys and pickles 12 years ago, after getting a craving for his mum’s tomato chutney, which his late wife Catherine used to make.

He knew others would like them too, and started selling some.

But rather than pocketing the profit from sales, Mr Bennett has donated every penny raised to north Kent charity, EllenorLions Hospices.

"After Catherine died I just decided one day that I wasn’t going to go without it [the tomato chutney] so I went into the kitchen and made myself some.

clem's tomato chutney

2 lb tomatoes red or green
½ lb apples
¼ lb onions
½ lb sugar
½ tablespoon of salt
¼ tablespoon of cayenne pepper
half an ounce of mustard seeds
¼ lb of sultanas

chop and mince all the ingredients
cover with cold vinegar
boil until thick and for at least two hours. makes 2-3 jars.

"I then started making jams to keep me busy and it spiralled from there.
"I wanted to donate the proceeds to a local charity.

"It’s nice that it’s a charity that helps a lot of cancer patients as that’s what my wife had,” said the grandfather-of-three.

Mr Bennett, who makes the preserves in his kitchen in Meadow Road, Gravesend, and grows tomatoes, rhubarb and blackcurrants in his garden, hopes to reach his target by Christmas.

He is looking for a successor to carry on the good work as he plans to hang up his pots, pans and jars and enjoy retirement.

He said: "I usually average about 30 hours in the kitchen a month and in the lead-up to Christmas I will probably spend six hours a day peeling onions.

"I am very proud of what I have achieved and have enjoyed making and selling my jams and pickles.

"I’m not getting any younger and get tired very quickly so I am looking forward to having some time back once I’ve hit my £20,000 target.
"It’s going to a very worthwhile cause."

• For information on how you can help, either by buying Mr Bennett’s jams, marmalades, chutneys and pickles or lending a hand with fund raising, contact the EllenorLions Hospice on 01322 221315.