Art of Aging: Local entrepreneur creates award-winning jams and marmalades

CARVERSVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) -- Not everybody's career follows a straight line. One local entrepreneur's journey later in life has brought him world-wide recognition.

In the basement of a quaint country church in Carversville, PA, Gregory Conocchioli, founder and CEO of Gregory Benjamin, is crafting award winning preserves and marmalades.

He learned about preserves at 8-years-old from his neighbors on Staten Island.

"Over the course of a couple of Saturdays, I asked if I could help. By the end of the summer, I had made my first batch of spiced peach and the rest is history," he recalled.

After spending most of his life in retail, he returned to marmalades and preserves in 2012. Spurred by a magazine article, he entered his marmalade in Britain's most prestigious contest.

"And lo and behold, the first year we won a gold medal for my Country Christmas marmalade," he said.

His award winning recipes have won medals every year since. Gregory and his staff of two make, jar, label and ship the fruits of their labor.

And coming soon - craft cocktail marmalades and salad dressings.

The awards keep pouring in for Gregory Benjamin products. But the prize for the creator of these delicious flavors is more personal.

"I wake up every day and I can't wait to put my feet on the ground. I really am one of the luckiest people I know," said Gregory.

You can find Gregory Benjamin products at specialty stores throughout the area.

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