NetFlorist Presents: Three of the Best this Women’s Day

Johannesburg, 9 August, 2009 – Our very own Martha Stewarts! Ten bucks to the person who knows what Coachhouse, Sally Williams, Wedgewood and South Africa have in common. The answer is nougat. Nougat was the spark of genius that drove the success of all three brands, and in each case, it was a South African woman who made it happen.

To spice up Women’s Day, online gift and flower delivery company NetFlorist, has put together a nougat-rich gift hamper valued at R299, from all three ladies, that is both delicious and a tribute to talented women in business. 

“The success of these three Nougat Empires, dreamed up, pursued locally and launched on the global market by three ordinary women is an inspiration to us all, and we wanted to pay tribute to them with our special Women’s Day hamper,” says Sue Morris, Marketing Director of NetFlorist.

Take Sally Williams, as an example. For 28 years Sally Williams ran a cookery school in Johannesburg, but one life-changing year after a visit to Morocco and tasting nougats among the souks of Marrakech, decided it was time to place her bets and started making the confectionary out of her home kitchen.

Her nougat was a delight, soft and tasteful in every sense, and bears her signature Sally Williams on every wrapper. With some business chutzpah and a lot of talent she now has a world-class facility in Linbro Park and distributes her nougat all over the world. The range has grown over the years, and now includes Turkish Delight, a Sally Williams Liqueur, and even a Sally Williams Ice-Cream.

Then there is Jane Matthews, who devised a recipe for making Macadamia nougat in 1997. Macadamias were grown on the Coach House farm, so they were an obvious choice to use in the kitchen. She started off, with assistant Rosina Shokane, in the pudding kitchen of the Coach House hotel. The Nougat Kitchen, as it has become known, now has its own premises and 28 staff who cook, cut, wrap and pack the confectionary. Coach House Nougat is also conquering global markets, another testament to South Africa’s confectionary prowess.

And last, but by no means least, although you’ll have to give them all a taste to make sure, NetFlorist introduces you to Wedgewood, and the Walters. Sandwiched between two forests in the Kwazulu Natal Midlands, “Wedgewood” had made a name for itself as an exciting venue in the area for classical music concerts, hosting musicians from around the world. Gilly Walters, hostess, and the “Missus of the Manor”, had always been passionate about good wholesome food and frequently used her culinary skills to cater for the concert audiences. It was at one of these concerts that Gilly served her first batch of Wedgewood Nougat. Delighted guests then urged her to start producing it for the retail market.

Seven years on Wedgewood has kept Gilly, her husband, her three sons and at least one of her daughters-in-law preoccupied with creating a large nougat brand to join the other Sally Williams and Coachhouse in supplying South Africans and the world with the ‘sweets from the kitchen’.

If nougat isn’t enough for Women’s Day, NetFlorist is also offering a glittering pack of vanilla cookie Handbags and Heels (R149), gorgeously iced and decorated. If they ate cookies in Sex in the City, these would be the ones. For women employees, the wife, a good buddy, these pretty, pointy little packs won’t disappoint. Visit www.netflorist.co.za for sheer inspiration for all your gift-giving and flower delivery requirements. Or call 0861 300 600 to place an order. Delivery is R55 to anywhere in South Africa.


About NetFlorist

NetFlorist is the largest flower delivery and gifting supplier in the country, having delivered in excess of 750 000 items since its inception in 1999. NetFlorist is in the business of delivering emotions and encouraging customers to connect with the important people in their lives, in the most convenient way.