Treat yourself to some quality South Australian produce this festive season

Local businesses are at the heart of Christmas in South Australia.

Kytons Bakery owner Sharon Sutton. Picture: Russell Millard

For almost a century, Kytons Bakery has been a part of the South Australian landscape, growing from a small catering business in 1938 to one of the state’s biggest success stories, with more than 200 retail stockists and more launching interstate.

So it’s kind of ironic that owner Sharon Sutton never used to enjoy a festive treat for which Kytons is not only renowned but has also won awards. “I was never much of a Christmas pudding fan until we bought Kytons and I got to taste the Kytons traditional Christmas pudding,” she says. “It really is something a bit special.”

She’s not the only one who thinks so. The pudding has received many accolades over the years, including taking out a silver medal at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show in 2016. It’s also enduringly popular with the locals. “Once people have had one of our Christmas puddings, they tend to come back and buy them the next year,” she says.

Sutton and her husband Darren bought the business in 2003 and for 20 years have been lovingly maintaining the high standards set by their predecessors. “You can’t continue to have popular products without them being of great quality and we take great pride in that,” she says. “Kytons has been around for such a long time and has become part of people’s traditions.”

And those traditions don’t just mean a Kytons Christmas pudding – the business produces a range of products that are firm favourites. “We have festive treats for your dinner table such as mince pies but we also have a range of products that make fabulous gifts, including a macadamia and apricot slice, rocky road and pre-packaged gift hampers so you don’t even have to do the wrapping,” Sutton says. “We also produce a Santa choc chip house with the walls and roof made of cookie pre-bakes instead of gingerbread and that’s a lot of fun for all ages.”

As an established part of the South Australian community, supporting local is of prime importance to Kytons, not just in sourcing quality ingredients from local suppliers wherever possible but also its proud reputation as the state’s premier fundraising bakery.

“Since the mid 1980s, Kytons has been doing community fundraising and it’s my favourite part of the business,” Sutton says. “Every community group, school group or sports club that runs a fundraising drive with us not only helps our business but helps their groups to provide equipment and opportunities for their members.

“We also support South Australia through employment. You’ll find our products in independent supermarkets like Drakes and Foodland which supports local jobs and local families. It’s important for everyone to support local. It’s a great thing for the economy and that’s a great thing for everyone. It might be your child, your brother or sister looking for work so the more opportunities we have in South Australia, the better.”

For the past 50 years, the Caporaso family has also been invested in the South Australian community, beginning in 1972 when Imma and Mario Caporaso opened general grocery and smallgoods store Mercato in Campbelltown. Today, the business employs around 55 people from the local area, while a new store at Eighty Eight O’Connell – set for completion in 2025 – will employ another 100-150 staff.

“We try to bring every staff member into our family and treat them just like anyone in the family,” marketing manager Jianna Caporaso says. “Imma and Mario are still here five days a week. Mario cuts cheese and Imma stocks the shelves – I don’t think they’ll ever leave.”

While famed for its range of high-quality Italian food and beverage items, the Caporasos place strong emphasis on sourcing produce from local suppliers, too. “A lot of our producers are local – our hero olive oil, Elisi Grove, is produced in Mypolonga and our hero coffee is D’Angelo Coffee, roasted in Lobethal. Supporting local is always going to be important to us.”

Mercato marketing manager. Picture: Russell Millard

Embracing its Italian heritage, Mercato stocks a wide range of mouth-watering festive treats imported fresh from the Caporasos’ home country. “We source panettone – a traditional cake with sultanas and candied fruits which originates from Milan and is only produced at Christmas,” Caporaso says. “A lot of producers have modernised the traditional recipe and added flavoured creams – there’s one with a prosecco cream, one with a beer cream and other random flavours which is really interesting.

“We have it on Christmas morning with a dollop of ice cream and berries which I would recommend. There are so many ways to enjoy it – spread with Nutella or chocolate spread, toasted with butter ... You can make our own rules.”

An Italian take on the Australian glazed ham is porchetta crackling. “We’re doing a range of Christmas porchetta, selling it as a whole so you can roast it up for family lunch,” Caporaso says. “Cured meats are very popular around Christmas time. We do a charcuterie board for when you’re entertaining.”

And there are plenty of sweet treats to round off a festive meal. “We have torrone (nougat) imported from Piedmont which is where most of the hazelnut farming is located, and tartufi, which is a type of chocolate with a creamy chocolate centre – that comes in a variety of flavours.

“We love sharing the best of Italy – we want to hone in on all those Italian cultural elements and bring them to Australia.”

kytonsbakery.com.au

mercato.com.au

It’s time to Celebrate SA and support South Australian businesses these holidays. Proudly brought to you by BankSA. #WeBackSA