Business

The South African woman who created a nougat empire out of her kitchen

Kirsten Minnaar • 15 May 2025

Wedgewood is one of South Africa’s most well-known and beloved sweets brands today. However, the story starts with humble beginnings in Gilly Walter’s family kitchen.

During the late 1990s, Gilly Walters was in a difficult position. Her husband had been diagnosed with cancer, and they had to sell the family farm.

To make ends meet, she started baking products and selling locally sourced cheeses, which she sold at the farmers market in Pietermaritzburg.

At one of these markets, Walters and her husband met Christopher Duigan, who is widely regarded as one of South Africa’s foremost concert pianists.

This encounter sparked a new idea. Walters decided to hold concerts for music lovers at her family home, sometimes hosting up to 100 guests.

Duigan entertained audiences with his knowledge of classical music and incredible piano skills, while Walters would delight guests with dishes created in her kitchen in their Hilton family home.

“With her passion for good food, our Mum created her innovative recipes to serve to her guests,” said Paul Walters, CEO of Wedgewood Crafted Confectionery.

Walters had travelled to France as an au pair in her youth and decided to try to recreate the Montelimar nougat as an evening alternative to dessert.

Montelimar nougat, a traditional French confection, is a soft, chewy candy primarily made from honey, almonds, and egg whites.

It is known for its delicate taste and unique texture, often with additional ingredients like pistachios and signature lavender honey.

Although it tasted great, the recipe was a disaster. The first batch had to be served frozen to stop it from running off the plate.

She wasn’t deterred, though, and went back to the drawing board. Walters toiled over the stove for five months before she perfected the Wedgewood recipe.

“Our family kitchen became a constant stream of nougat to be tasted, pulled and prodded by anyone who stepped over the threshold,” Paul said.

“Eventually, Gilly perfected her well-loved nougat recipe and packed it into baskets to sell at the local farmer’s market.”

Business growth

Suffice it to say the response to her newly perfected recipe was better. In fact, Wedgewood still uses the same recipe today, Paul explained.

“Such was the demand for our Mum’s honey-rich nougat, and later her world-first nougat biscuits, that production grew fast,” he said.

“Her three sons jumped in to stir pots and help where needed. And that’s how Wedgewood Nougat began.”

Today, Wedgewood Crafted Confectionery is one of the most popular nougat brands in the country, and Walters’ touch can still be found all over the business.

Wedgewood remains a family business and still makes nougat the same way she made it, in small batches with great care on their farm.

“Our nougat is still handmade on our farm, and we work with the same passion and commitment that we always have,” he said.

At the same time, Wedgewood is working on creating exciting new recipes while keeping a very particular eye on quality, the way Walters did.

The Wedgewood Farm is a decommissioned dairy farm, not far from the Drakensberg Mountains. It is home to the business’ bespoke nut-cracking facility, the Wedgewood Bakery and Makery and the Wedgewood Farm Shop.

Today, more than 25 years after its founding, the business has five emporiums nationwide, at the V&A Waterfront, Parkhurst, Lourensford, Ballito, and in the Midlands.

The floral theme in each emporium is inspired by the rose farm where the Wedgewood family lived and where Walters perfected high teas for her visiting customers. Her original recipes, which were first crafted on the farm, are also featured in the emporiums.

Each Wedgewood Gifting & Hamper Emporium is different in design and feel, but some key components create a common theme.

Each location has a unique floral artwork created by Walters’ daughter-in-law and other artists. Most recently, Walters’ grandson has taken to creating florals, which are used to create wall-to-ceiling wallpaper.

Many people may recognise Wedgewood’s iconic boxes in which nougat products are sold. In 2021, Wedgewood launched its own Handmade Box Project.

The project is based on Wedgewood’s Midlands farm and employs people with disabilities living in the local community.

This idea was born from the business’s need for beautifully crafted handmade boxes and a request from their community to find jobs for these previously disadvantaged people.

The Wedgewood Handmade Box Project is growing and now employs two full-time Handmade Box Project team members, Sli and Sphume. They can produce up to 100 handmade boxes daily in 6 artisanal steps.

Wedgewood products can also be bought nationwide at large retailers like Checkers, Pick n Pay, Dischem, and Netflorist.