When Liz Campbell was growing up, she quickly learnt a valuable lesson on the family farm – nothing went to waste.

Her mum, who Liz describes as a “typical farmer’s wife” made sure that a use was found for everything, be that fruit boiled into jam or courgettes turned into pickles.

Liz has since swapped her childhood stomping ground of Kent for the equally beautiful Aberdeenshire, but not before an exciting career in Australia as a conservationist.

Having become a parent herself, she wanted to combine her passion for sustainability and the great outdoors, with the flexibility to be around for her children.

And if she made some money from such a venture, well that was a bonus.

Her home grown business, Udny Provender, has done more than make a few pennies, and Liz’s produce is now stocked by the likes of Barra Berries Farm Shop in Oldmeldrum, and Nature’s Larder in Aberdeen.

And although the business is now run from her home in Methlick, Udny is really where it all started when Liz launched her company six years ago.

A buzz about the place

She now sells Aberdeenshire honey, flavoured vinegars and craft shrubs – making for quite the wonderful mixture.

Liz’s bees forage on millions of flowers at the family’s apiaries across Northern Aberdeenshire, with a light blossom honey and a late summer heather honey on offer.

The popular vinegars are made with local fruits, herbs, and flowers, while the craft shrubs  are cordials made from fruit and vinegar, which can even be used for cocktail making.

It’s quite an accomplishment for a busy mum, stemming from a pure love of the outdoors.

We went along for a flavour of the good life, and discovered why local produce could be the key to helping the environment.

Waste not, want not

“Udny Provender is run by myself and my husband, Ewan,” said Liz.

He does the bee keeping as I’m actually allergic to bee stings, that wasn’t part of the business plan.

“I grew up on a farm in Kent, and my my mum was a typical farmer’s wife.

“She helped my dad out, had her own job and also ran her own garden where she kept chickens.

“It was instilled in me from quite a young age, you should never let anything go to waste.

You’ve got to use the resources available to you.”

Liz has a PHD in conservation biology, and went on to work at a zoo in Australia.

“When I had my children, I wasn’t ready to go back to work when they were little though,” she said.

“I felt that this meant the pressure was very much on my husband to earn all the money though.”

The couple started out with a few beehives, and Liz decided to sell honey at the nursery fete.

“People loved the honey and the vinegars were a different kind of product,” she said.

“I started thinking to myself that maybe I could do this, and I got advice from business gateway.

The vinegars come in six different flavours, including blackberry cider and hot chili.

Liz then branched out into craft shrubs, which is cordial made from fruit and vinegar.

“I hadn’t heard of them before and not many people know what they are,” she said.

“It can take some persuading to drink something made from vinegar, but they’re delicious.”

The business started out at Liz’s kitchen table, before she moved to a kitchen separate from the family home, although still on site.

“It was chaos with the kids getting ready for school, but that’s how we started out,” she said.

“Our honey is season in that the bees only make it when the weather is nice.

“We are going to extract our first harvest of the year in the next week or so.

We also take our bees up to the heather, so we get another crop late autumn.”

“I started off making the vinegar with the fruit I grew myself, but now I buy in fruit as well.

“I can make raspberry vinegar all year round as raspberries freeze, but elderflower is much more seasonal.”

Lockdown has been beneficial for the business, although Liz originally feared she might not be able to sell any products.

“All the farmer’s markets where I normally sell were obviously cancelled, so I started offering local delivery,” she said.

“Local independent shops which stock my products became really busy as well.

“Then when markets reopened, I think people felt they were a safe option because everything was outside.

“I also think people have made a real concentrated effort to support local business, and I hope that mindset stays with people.

The good life

Prior to Covid, Liz also offered school visits in a bid to educate young people on the importance of bees.

“There’s always been this part of me which loves the outdoors, and pottering in the garden,” she said.

“I love wildlife and biodiversity,  and now I have my own wild flower meadow.

“I’m living a lifestyle I really enjoy, even though it’s exhausting at times.”

“I feel very lucky to always have honey in the house.

The hope is to carry on as we are, I’m not looking to take over the world.

“I love what I do though, and I think Udny Provender sums me up.

“It has that old fashioned feel, which is how I see myself.

“It just clicked.”

Round of Questions

1) Most under-rated fruit?

Gooseberries. They are so delicious, tart, tangy and sweet, and really versatile, but tend to be overlooked.

2) If you were a drink, what would you be and why?

Aha, depends on what mood I’m in! A hot honey and lemon, because I’m sweet, comforting and easy to relax with, although I sometimes wish I was more of a champagne cocktail!

3) What’s a staple for your kitchen cupboards?

Other than bread flour, which I get through by the tonne, we always have some hot sauces in our cupboards, especially Singularity Sauce’s Het Het.

4) Any secret tips of the bottling trade?

I wish! I still bottle everything by hand, and it’s a fairly mundane process, so my top tip is to put on a great song playlist while you are doing it. I tend to belt out the power ballads.

5) Worst experience with making your own produce?

The worst part is also one of the best things. It’s the seasonality of it all.

I love watching seasons change, but it also means many things can’t be put off.

So it may be 10:30 at night, and you may have just finished extracting 100 kg of honey, but you can’t finish for the day because you still have 15kg of strawberries that need to be processed .

There was also the time when the quince paste I was making exploded and coated the kitchen ceiling ….

6) Best honey pairing?

It’s difficult to look past runny honey drizzled over porridge, or a thick set honey spread over freshly baked bread, but I think my favourite pairing is with Manchego cheese (or similar), figs and oatcakes.

7) You have to sell one of your products to a politician. Which one would you choose and why?

Honey, obviously, to help sweeten their words.