Naturally Cordial
My son asked if he could set up a lemonade stall at the bottom of our driveway. He had big ambitions of becoming rich by selling “lemonade”. I didn’t have a cordial recipe at the time, but I knew a friend who did. It turned out it was her mother-in-law’s recipe and she kindly gave it to me.
So Alex set up his stall and, aided by his sister, sold glasses of cordial to our neighbours. It wasn’t a busy day so unfortunately he didn’t make much money. It did however spark my interest and I started making cordial on a regular basis for our own use. Another acquaintance gave me their pink grapefruit recipe which I also adapted for my own cordial and reduced the sugar content by 50%.
It might all have stayed there as a recipe for ourselves and friends if I hadn’t become involved in the parents association of the secondary school that both our children attend. At the end of summer term each year, we run a farmers’ market fundraiser. I offered to run a cordial stand instead of purchasing soft drinks for re-sale.
It was a huge success and I remember thinking at the time, that as so many parents were involved in the food business, it was actually a great way to test a product and that there could be a business in cordials. About eight months later, I was made redundant from my previous job. Destiny had spoken. Naturally Cordial was born.
