Bennetts of Mangawhai

It's difficult to know where to begin, so many integral qualities to celebrate when it comes to introducing our Nougat. 

Best let the Nougat speak for itself.

In a delicately firm hold, toasted hazelnuts macadamias & pistachios lay enveloped within a silky-rich honeyed meringue, a suspension of deep crunch & perfume intoxication released to saturate the senses at each bite.

One of the very few to make our own Nougat, there is innovation in our methods which we can't help feeling quietly chuffed about. Method is king & we have tried to stay true, like shaping a great big wooden spatula of our own, just as they use in the Montelimar Nougat Houses. But also technical & scientific application of an idea which led to the designing & drawing up of plans for a machine which cuts Nougat - an unforeseen obstacle & quite a challenge, as anyone who has ever tried will testify to. The machine now sits in our factory, the proto-type, a serious piece of equipment, not to mention a busy one!

Then too is the story of Nougat, a story in its own right & one bearing the echoes of royal courts & conquests; Nougat, a gift given by Emperors; an exquisite culinary treasure which travelled with the Greeks along trade routes to France where, in the town of Montelimar, the tradition of Nougat took hold & became the town's industry. Provence, where we wandered enchanted by the romance of the place, & Montelimar, where we learned what Nougat meant, where we tried & tasted & fell in love with Nougat, where we decided that this was something we wanted to bring home to Mangawhai & call our own. With two Great Taste awards under our belt it's nice to know we're not the only ones who think our Nougat is more than just a little bit special.

The ingredients we like to use deserve mention: Manuka honey, so deliciously, so potently, so unmistakably New Zealand; the eggs we use come from happy hens; the nuts, spray free Macadamias from Aotea in Waipu, Uncle Joe's Hazelnuts from Marlborough, which are cracked daily; the cocoa mass in our chocolate Nougat, pure chocolate in rough form. In our search for honest flavour, there is no greater privilege than to use what is grown or produced locally by producers & purveyors of integrity; an intangible essence, an investment we believe enhances the quality of the chocolates & confectionary we make here at Bennetts of Mangawhai.

But what it all comes down to, & what really matters...

To look at: the burnished cream made of egg whites spun with bush honey & Manuka, the tell-tale scattering of nutty contrasts, exotic shades of pistachio green, an almost buttery macadamia cream, soft/dark shades of brown, toasted almonds…

To hold: one breaks the seal & releases such a pocket of aroma, a somewhere suggestion of rose petals, a breath laden somehow with memories of distant places, an allure of the exotic, which teases the senses for the briefest of moments…   

To taste: contrasting textures, rich & deep undertones of flavour, the delightfully chewy chew that only Nougat can do, & more…