The Nut Baron
Multi-year medal winner Andy Dartmann aka The Nut Baron is one of those for whom the uncertainty of the pandemic led to a new food career. Since then his German-inspired flavoured nuts have been recognised with medal wins in 2022 and 2023 and two medals this year including a Gold for The Nut Baron Crisp Peanut Crocant Gold which the judges said was ‘Well balanced with a well-developed full flavour…would make a great ice cream topping or for the top of a cheesecake!”
2020: a year of separation, small gatherings and the strength of community. With the pandemic underway and uncertainty at an all-time high, German-born, Christchurch-bound Andy Dartmann was missing home.
So, like many Kiwis, he made the most of the circumstances; “I booked flights, but they got canned… so I had a midwinter Christmas for the German community.”
But what’s a mid-winter Christmas without the snacks to match? With half a mind home - wandering through a winter wonderland of markets, mulled wine. beer halls and bratwurst, Andy chose to serve a bite-sized trip back to Germany.
Four years on and four alert levels later, what Andy served that night is now a specialty product shipped nationwide. His protein-rich, vegan, gluten-free caramelised nuts earned two silver medals at the 2022, Gold and Bonze Medals in 2023 and in the 2024 Outstanding Food Producer Awards.
And although not quite plucked out of a Grimms’ Tale, his product is fantastical enough for New Zealand. Until the inauguration of ‘The Nut Baron’, you could only chance across the traditional holiday treat at farmers’ markets or festivals.
The rarity here of something so famous throughout Germany was a source of Andy’s motivation. ‘Gone are the days of waiting for Christmas and fairs to get a fix for these delicious treats.’, he says on his website.
Andy learned generational secrets looking over his mother’s shoulder in his childhood home near Bremen, in northern Germany. But keeping the tradition alive with a full-time job, family, and conventional kitchen is tough.
Every single nut is cooked and hand-packed out of Andy’s house. Evenings and weekends are spent fulfilling online orders, “I started with the markets and stopped quite quickly as it wasn’t manageable with a young family and work… but I did a lot of festivals.”
Originally a one-man band, Andy has now engaged the services of four compatriots - three part time helpers and a machine - a fifty-kilogram hunk of German engineering. Andy imported the latter to achieve the very best caramelised coating. The cost and effort to get the machine here were a must. The nuts had to taste just like home.
Despite the industrialisation of Andy’s countertop, the ingredient list remains simple and natural. Nuts, sugar, spices - chiefly cinnamon. South Island hazelnuts are locally sourced, the others from across the ditch and further abroad.
What started as a bag of almonds and a mother’s love is now an award-winning product stocked from Auckland to Arrowtown. The Baron wants to grow and would love to turn his hobby into a full-time business. But as is the experience of many small business owners around New Zealand, he admits upscaling is “a hard nut to crack”.
For now, Andy continues quelling both empty and homesick stomachs as best he can. He recommends enjoying the caramelised morsels traditionally, “snacking in front of the TV”, or with a beer like at Oktoberfest.
A childhood favourite turned favourite of his own children and now many New Zealanders. Indeed, thanks to The Nut Baron, you no longer have to fly to Frankfurt or wait until the twenty-fifth to get that fix.
Lederhosen and frothing beer optional.
To learn more about The Nut Baron’s range and buy his delicious product visit the website.