Background

Peter McQueeney

My great grandfather, Peter McQueeney, owned and ran a preserves business in Sunderland in the early part of the 20th century. It was called ‘Tres Bon Pickles’. Peter also produced canned food for the Army during the First World War.

His son, Peter (seen in the photo), was a Flight Engineer in the RAF in the Second World War. His Lancaster Bomber was shot down over Magdeburg in 1944 and Peter died aged 19.

Peter’s youngest daughter Mary died aged 99 in 2014. I used to send her my preserves for tasting and feedback. Although the family left Sunderland in the 1930s, she retained her broad Mackem accent.

India

My mother was born in Mumbai. For over two hundred years many of her family were in India; some worked for the East India Company and later for the railways, and some served in the Army. My mother went to school in Kurseong in Darjeeling, near the foothills of the Himalayas. She travelled the last part of the long train journey on the famous narrow gauge ‘toy train’.

Stories of preserves made in Sunderland and Indian food were part of our family life in Bedfordshire where my parents settled in 1956. This is the background of my interest in the cultural history of food and making preserves.

I use some of my great-grandfather’s ideas and I researched old and new recipes to influence my own. I love using unusual fruits such as Bergamots, Shepherd’s Bullaces and Quinces, and I’m now exploring Persian cooking.

Why Bellringer’s Preserves?

I was a bellringer at St Mary le Bow and St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London, and recently at Worcester Cathedral. My bellringing friends, along with Becky and Steve Boffy, encouraged me to start this business during the pandemic. It’s easy to say: “I should have done it years ago”. It’s never too late.