Our company Belcour Preserves, started because of our love for good, clean, all-natural, locally grown food. We are lucky enough to live in this beautiful place in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, called Belcour – French for "beautiful courtyard". Belcour is situated in the foothills of Jamaica's Blue Mountains coffee-growing region. The 7-acre property has been in the family for over 50 years. The citrus, pineapple, and guava in the condiments go into making Belours' fruit preserves. Scotch Bonnet peppers and fresh, herbs such as parsley, are key ingredients in all the condiments including the hot pepper sauces. Honey from the small apiary on the property also goes into all the products and is the signature flavour of our products. Our business grew out of a desire to create wholesome, Jamaican, gourmet food products, utilizing natural, locally grown Jamaican produce. Our products are still made in small batches. "We also use old-fashioned, traditional preserving techniques including sugar, the sun, honey, vinegar, and heat. Our aim is to develop a homegrown industry that uses Jamaica's uniquely delicious fruit, vegetables, herbs, and spices in a virtuous cycle - one which is environmentally friendly and promotes sustainable development. As such, we support our local farmers. An important part of our company’s ethos is our belief in the concept of preservation; preservation of our traditions, culture, and the life of our planet. Implicit in this concept is a reverence for the sanctity of life." We’ve been selling our products locally to supermarkets, cafes, specialty food stores, and tourist gift shops for over ten years. With the encouragement and support from our distributor, family and friends and with the continued growth in demand and acceptance of our products in the market place, we are in the process of expanding our operation to meet this demand. I think our consumers buy our products because they can taste the “love” we put into every batch of preserves or sauce we make. This stems from our simple philosophy about food: good tasting food depends on fresh, delicious, wholesome ingredients. We have made a point of not using artificial ingredients, colours, or preservatives in our products. We are committed through this stage of expansion to remain true to our mission, to capture the best Jamaican flavours and deliver them, with love and care, to our consumers. At Belcour Lodge, we also offer a garden and apiary tour, along with, cooking classes, brunch, lunch or tea and there is a small one-bedroom guest cottage on the property. Visits are offered by appointment only. Blue Mountain culinary tours are also done in association with other farmers in the area. Visitors tour farms where world-famous, Blue Mountain coffee is grown, visit our Belcour apiary where they can taste our honey, fruit preserves and condiments, and can also tour organic produce farms and experience other delicious things grown in the surrounding environs of the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.
