15 May 2023

Two Tales of Taranaki – Erin

Kei te Taiao. Back Roads.

WRITER: SIONAINN MENTOR-KING

PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHELLE HEPBURN

Whether you’re into dramatic landscapes and outdoor adventures, or gallery-hopping and a spot of boutique shopping, sunny Taranaki has something for locals and holidaymakers alike. Shepherdess sought out two entrepreneurial women from the region – baker Erin Benton of Knead Donuts and Feastival founder Rachel Church – to uncover their stories and their take on how to spend a perfect twenty-four hours in New Plymouth.

ERIN BENTON

Erin’s creative outlet came in the form of baking. “It was actually sourdough that started it off,” she explains. “I had this thing in my head – if I can nail sourdough, I’ve still got it.”

Knead Donuts is a bit of a cult favourite in Taranaki. The little shop on Carrington Street in New Plymouth is famous for almost always selling out each day. But for founder and baker Erin, the journey to becoming the region’s favourite donuteer wasn’t a planned one. “It all just got a bit out of hand!” she laughs.

Erin, 27, is of Ngāti Raukawa descent, though Taranaki born and bred. She and her partner, Aaron, met when they were both just fourteen, and together they embarked upon a career in dairy farming around the maunga. But after the birth of her two tamariki – now four and six years old – Erin felt she needed something more in her life.

“We were dairy farming out the back of Eltham, about an hour out of New Plymouth. I was in the thick of motherhood and quite isolated on the farm. I needed something to get my brain going again and have something for myself – a bit of a creative outlet. I had worked in a bakery in New Plymouth when I was fifteen, making rolls and stuff in the morning before going to school – it was such a good time, and it just came naturally.”

Unsurprisingly, Erin’s creative outlet came in the form of baking. “It was actually sourdough that started it off,” she explains. “I had this thing in my head – if I can nail sourdough, I’ve still got it.” So she began a period of experimenting to remaster her trade and develop a process and recipe she was happy with. “I look back at what I was doing at that point, and it was just nuts! I was waking up and lighting the fire so that the house was warm enough so that the dough could prove – for no reason, just so that my brain had something to do!”

“Freshness is a key factor in our popularity,” Erin says. “We don’t cut any corners.”

Though Erin may not have had a clear plan or a firm goal in sight, she soon realised there was a gap in the market out in South Taranaki for artisan bread. She and Aaron started taking her sourdough to a market in Stratford. “I didn’t want to just take bread to the market,” Erin says. “So I took a few other bits and pieces. The first market I took twelve donuts, and I was like, ‘Is that too many? Should I put them all on the table?’” Needless to say, the donuts were a hit.

With the nightly use of a friend’s cafe kitchen, Erin built up her business. “We’d bake everything over the course of the night, Aaron would go milk cows in the morning and then we’d take it all – fifty loaves of bread, three hundred donuts, a hundred scrolls, a hundred savouries, a hundred danishes – to market. It was only going to be once a month – just for something to do – but the demand just kept growing. We got to a point where we were selling out every single market, so I set up a kitchen here in New Plymouth on my parents’ property, and we just hit every market that we could from that point.”

But markets weren’t the sum of it. “We were providing wholesale to businesses in New Plymouth and also doing a bread-run around Taranaki.” Erin was putting in long hours all week, getting up at one o’clock in the morning to prep. On top of parenting her two young kids. “We were lucky because they could stay with Mum overnight. But in the afternoons, you’ve still gotta put your ‘mum’ hat on. It was hectic.”

Today, Knead Donuts employs six full-time and two casual staff, and produces around 1,200 donuts, three days per week – while Erin and Aaron still farm.

Eventually, something needed to change. “I made the decision to move to only donuts because that was the trend that we were seeing over the two years we were doing that,” Erin says. “The first time we went to a market and I took 400 donuts – donuts only – I was worried it wasn’t going to work, but we sold out in thirty-five minutes. So it was like, ‘Okay... yep.’ Then in 2020 we took the educated leap of faith into the shop, and since we’ve opened the doors it’s just been absolute chaos! A beautiful chaos!”

Erin’s initial shop set up was as a two-person operation making 250 donuts a day, best-case scenario. But it quickly became clear those estimates were too low. Just over two years late, Knead Donuts employs six full-time and two casual staff, and produces around 1,200 donuts, three days per week – while still farming.

“We sell out most days,” Erin admits. “We get asked to open more days, but it’s worked out a win-win with that three-day thing. We’ve become a niche market and it works for my family. A lot of my staff are mums as well, so they can actually walk that work-life balance. We’ve been really lucky. What I hear a lot is it’s our team, our people. Most of us were all born and raised here in Taranaki, so you’ve either gone to school with someone, or your partner plays rugby with them, or your kids go to school together. It’s a real community feel. We definitely have a really great product, but there’s this whole community kaupapa behind it I feel fuels the whole thing.”

Proof & Stock Coffee

24 Hours in Taranaki with Erin

First thing. Start at Elixir West – they do really good breakfast. And then walk to Proof & Stock Coffee for your caffeine. They’re just awesome, another local family. They’ve been running for about seven to eight years. They supply over 20 local cafes and restaurants with beans and are just the living and breathing example of manaakitanga.

Morning. Go for a hīkoi along the foreshore Coastal Walkway if it’s a nice morning – it’s beautiful, and it’s perfect for kids. Little buggies and bikes and scooters can do the whole thing as well, and there’s lots of nice stop-offs along the way. Or try Pukekura Park – there’s normally something going on there.

Lunch. Ms White for fresh pizza and craft beer. For a more tamariki-friendly lunch I would definitely recommend Pikopiko Eatery in New Plymouth, they have a beautiful outdoor setup for the kids to muck around, and delicious kai.

Toret

Afternoon. Go to the beach or the river – we’ve got so many to choose from here. Ngāmotu Beach is really well set up for kids, and we’ve got surf beaches if that’s what you’re into. Those that are up for a challenge can climb Paritutu Rock. Very steep and rocky finish but provides the most breathtaking views of Ngāmotu.

Dinner. There’s incredibly flavoursome sharing plates with cocktails at Snug Lounge. You need to check out their menu! Or head over to Toret in Ōakura. Honestly, the kūmara and goat’s cheese tortellini is just out the gate. I just dream of it. It’s unreal.

STAY

If you’re wanting to do the whole whānau thing, there’s the beach camps. They’re nothing fancy, but you’ve got the Ōpunake Beach Holiday Park, Kaūpokonui Beach Motorcamp – we did a lot of staying out there as kids over summer and it’s great for summer. And Pouakai Cabins is really nice. It’s not far out of New Plymouth, and it’s a really secluded spot. They’ve got cabins right down in the bush. If you could get rid of the kids for the night and went and stayed out there it would be really nice. But there are bigger cabins for whānau as well really close to the Pouakai Tarn.

Glossary. Hīkoi, walk. Kaupapa, initiative. Kūmara, sweet potato. Manaakitanga, hospitality and generosity. Maunga, mountain, here referring to Mount Taranaki. Tamariki, children. Whānau, family.