Mangawhai Farmers Market

Mangawhai is a 25 minute drive along the coast from Waipu where I live – last Saturday we decided to head off to the Mangawhai Farmers Market.

The Market is every Saturday 9am -1pm – and you can taste the flavours of Mangawhai – wine, olive oils, bread, organic produce and much more.

We bought herbs to plant in the garden from Rosie, I tasted the local Evo Olive oils and decided to take home a bottle of the Frantoio. At $25 for 250mls this is not for frying in, but the taste is exquisite. My friend Liz, from Adelaide olive country was appalled at the prices – $70/litre, but that is often the going rate here for estate bottled oil, and I succumbed.

We also bought some cheese and vegetables, and I could even have had my hair cut! There was a great atmosphere at the Market.

Bennetts Chocolate

One of the reasons for this adventure, was to visit the new Bennetts Chocoloate shop and café. This amazing new building is across the road from the Market (see the google map below!). The building is exquisite and could have been lifted from Italy or France, though with a kiwi twist. For example the water fountain is a wishing well and raises funds to support the critically endangered Fairy Tern.

You enter into a large open glass covered area which looks perfect for a party or a music event or….. actually the day we were there they were closing early to the public for a wedding. The café is to one site of the glass atrium and while we just had coffee, the menu for lunch was very seductive, and a trip back for lunch is definitely on our summer list of things to do.

But the café is not the only reason we came – we head into the chocolatier – WOW. What to choose, how to choose. The chocolate are laid out seductively, each small morsel calling out “Eat me!”. If it is too hard to choose, you can buy a selection ready boxed. We settle on a couple of tasters for now and they blow my little tastebuds away. You can even see the chocolates being made through the glass windows at the end of the shop.

I think I will be back!

Bennetts of Mangawhai – Chocolates