Kylie Alexander, creator of creamy and flavoursome Russian fudge. PHOTO/KAREN COLTMAN.
KAREN COLTMAN
[email protected]
Full of flavour and very melt-in-the-mouth, ‘Honeybee and the Owl’ fudge is a finalist in the 2020 Inspire New Zealand Artisan Awards, and creator Kylie Alexander is chuffed.
The honey used is Greytown-produced Avatar Manuka Honey and the fudge is a product of Laughing Owl founder, Kylie Alexander.
A qualified chef, Alexander got on to making fudge for friends when she was living in Scotland and they told her she had to do something with it.
Back in New Zealand, she and her husband came up with the name of the fudge when at Te Papa they saw the New Zealand laughing owl was extinct.
“At the time it just seemed to be right and a fun name.”
She now makes fudge in her home kitchen for a living and is only just keeping up with orders.
She is getting busier as more people are posting gifts to friends and family they can’t visit in the covid-19 world.
Alexander keeps her prices to $10 and under.
“I keep it affordable so people can give a cheerful inexpensive gift that is a treat and a pick-me-up.”
There are no particularly secret ingredients in the fudge, but the Russian fudge includes golden syrup.
The recipe was gained from her grandmother Coral Evans, who lived in Fabians Rd in Greytown.
But Alexander shares that, to make fudge well, it needs a lot of stirring and must be whipped.
Alexander’s kitchen table is piled with packets of fudge some of which are destined for England.
A woman has bought some for her dad who recently turned 91 years old.
She frequently gets orders from overseas buyers wanting genuine New Zealand products.
Alexander has branched out from the standard Russian fudge to flavours such as The Fox and the Owl, which has coffee liqueur Quick Brown Fox Coffee Liqueur from Dunedin in it.
She has just made a batch of lemon fudge with Koakoa Limoncello from the Bond Store.
The fudge is up against 20 other finalists in the ‘ambient’ category.
The entries are judged on being fit-for-purpose, their visual appeal, taste, price point, and shelf-life.
Award-winning products receive gold, silver, or bronze trophies.
The supreme winner gains a $10,000 advertising campaign and category winners $5000 for a campaign.
Winners were to be announced yesterday.
