The story goes that a certain Mr and Mrs Adkins were on a ship sailing from Canada to South Africa back in the 1860s. While on the ship Mrs Adkins was given the recipe for chutney by one of the Indian chefs. Chutney is the anglicised version of the Hindu word Chatni, meaning a relish made with fruit and spices.
Mrs Adkins passed the recipe on to her daughter Amelia, when Amelia married Mr Herbert Saddleton Ball. Amelia cooked and sold the chutney to help with the family finances. She named her chutney Mrs H.S.Balls Chutney, using her husband’s initials as was the custom in those days. The chutney proved so popular that the business expanded, and was eventually passed on to Amelia’s sons, who ran the business until they sold.
From curry, boboti, sandwiches, cheese and biscuits you name it Mrs Ball's is the only one.