The Coach House Nougat Company

The Macadamias used in the Coach House nougat grow in orchards of lush grass overlooking the valleys and peaks of the northern Drakensberg. The nuts are picked, sorted and cracked, then sorted and graded again. The nuts are then sent to the nougat kitchen where they are warmed thoroughly before being added to a mixture of molten honey, sugar and egg white. The mixture is beaten well before being placed on rice paper in a baking sheet. More rice paper is then placed on top and the confection weighed down till cool. It is then cut into squares or oblong pieces. Our nougat is hand-cut and hand wrapped. We use only the best, freshest ingredients possible. Our team of confectioners has grown from 2 women - who used a corner of the Coach House kitchen in a small home industry-type operation - to a current complement of 31 women, 5 men and 1 manager, who now operate out of a spacious purpose built factory. They are all locally recruited and many do not have a formal education. They have all been cross-trained in the various functions of the production and packaging process. The men do the cutting of the nougat as it takes some strength to do this by hand, whilst the preparation and mixing, cooking packing and labelling are tasks undertaken by everyone. We are very proud of our staff who, from mostly humble and disadvantaged backgrounds, have learned to create these delicious confections which are sent all over the country.