Singer’s jam session

By Dion Teasdale
OPERA singer Lisa O’Connor began building a jam empire the day she lost her tonsils.
A decade ago the talented songstress was touring the concert halls of Europe when a nasty bout of tonsillitis forced her return to Australia for surgery.
As she recuperated in hospital, surrounded by hampers of fruit delivered by concerned family and friends – and riding a wave of pain killers – the idea struck her.
The abundance of warm, fragrant fruit – that would take her weeks to consume – could be put to better use.
And so, once discharged from hospital, she got to work, making jam – and Jam Lady Jam was born.
In a bungalow in the Melbourne seaside suburb of Elwood, Ms O’Connor created her first jars, combining ripe fruit with intriguing blends of organic sweeteners and exotic spices.
She blended mangoes with saffron, pears with vanilla and ginger, rosewater with quince, dates with orange blossoms, apricots with cardamom, and strawberries with aniseed.
It was here Ms O’Connor discovered the secret to making wonderful, full flavoured fruit jam.
“To make good jam, you have to be in a good mood,” she said.
“You have to have the right feeling in your thighs.”
At first, she gave samples to friends who ran neighbourhood cafes and restaurants and they loved it.
Spurred on, Ms O’Connor decided to try her luck with a wider audience, setting up a tasting stall at the Queen Victorian Market.
Lisa’s reputation, like her scrumptious jams, spread quickly and soon she had to make a decision.
Would she return to a singing career and audition for the Victorian State Opera, or would she continue to build her jam empire.
The choice came down to Ms O’Connor’s desire to give something real to others.
“Opera singing is great, but so intangible. I love singing for audiences, but after the applause – its all over,” she said.
“With jam, I get to give a piece of myself to people every morning when they wake up.”
After five years Ms O’Connor met husband Richard Haupstmann and she moved to live with him in Healesville.
In the Yarra Valley Jam Lady Jam has continued to grow, as has the O’Connor-Haupstmann family – three and a half years ago Lisa and Richard welcomed daughter, Carmen, named after the opera, of course, into the world.
The range of Jam Lady Jam products, which includes more than 20 jams, preserves and relishes, is now used in restaurants across Melbourne, sold at wineries across the Yarra Valley, and exported across Australia and overseas.
“People in Sydney and Brisbane and in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, are eating jam from Healesville every day,” Ms O’Connor said.
After a decade of international jam-making success, what lies ahead?
More jam – thankfully.
But an inherited piano, recently delivered to Ms O’Connor’s lounge room, is begging to be played and you might just hear, in the sweet, warm spring breezes wafting over Healesville, Ms O’Connor in song again.