Who we are

Hello

I'm so proud that Denheath is a family business, and I wanted to tell you a bit about who we are, how we started and where we are now.

Denheath House, in sleepy little Pleasant Point, South Canterbury, has been home to the uniquely different 'Denheath Custard Square' for over 24 years. The original owners were Dennis and Heather (hence the name Denheath) and I was lucky enough to work for them for a while in my mid-teens. When they finally decided to sell up they agreed that Heather's notebook crammed full of her old recipes, and the right to use them, would come with the property.

My Mum, Carol, was convinced that Denheath House was worth buying on the strength of Heather's 'Denheath Custard Square' recipe alone! My Dad wasn't so sure, but Mum was a persuasive woman, and in 1996 my parents, purchased Denheath House.

As a family we ran the cafe for many years. People started coming from far and wide to sample our fluffy, high rise, melt-in-your-mouth, rich and creamy, custard-filled squares. And pretty soon we realised Mum had been right about the potential of the 'Denheath Custard Square'.

In 1999 Mum found out she was seriously ill. My husband Donald and I stepped in and took over the business, trademarking Denheath for the first time. Mum was able to finish work, sort out her affairs and have some quality family time, before she passed away in July 2000. At the time Donald was a professional musician and we'd recently had our first baby together (Majick).

Handling the arrival of a new baby, the loss of my mother and taking over the business made it a strange time - desperately sad, busy, exciting and scary all at once. With huge support from Donald's parents and older children, we have been able to grow Denheath Desserts. Initially we started as a single product company but since then we have developed other decadent goodies and continue to do so in our new, purpose-built kitchen facility in Timaru.

Donald is the brains in the business, innovative in his approach, with a unique enthusiasm and vision that is catchy. I have a real passion for food, baking and cake decorating (both preparing it and eating it!) and I also have the memory of Mum and her belief in the Custard Squares.

My mother had a dream that Denheath and her Custard Squares could become nationally and even internationally known and we wanted to make that happen for her. If we were corporate enough to ever write a mission statement, achieving her dream would be it.

UPDATE! New addition to the Templeton family!

On October the 31st 2011 (My Late Mum, Carol's birthday!)  we had a baby boy.  Bingle B Templeton was born at 8.31 pm weighing 8lb 1 oz (3670gr) and measuring 52 cm.  I think my mum would have adored him.

Bingle B Templeton Born 31.10.11 (Photo Bingle 8 days old)

Thanks for taking the time to visit our Web site!

Lisa