{"id":25862,"date":"2016-04-29T07:28:14","date_gmt":"2016-04-29T07:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/?p=25862"},"modified":"2016-04-29T11:09:14","modified_gmt":"2016-04-29T11:09:14","slug":"life-for-ma-mere-confections-gets-even-sweeter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/life-for-ma-mere-confections-gets-even-sweeter\/","title":{"rendered":"Life for Ma M\u00e8re Confections Gets Even Sweeter"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re going to start with this: pink Steri Stumpi macarons. Do we have your attention now? Yes, such a beautiful creation actually exists and it\u2019s all thanks to the genius that is Lexi Bird, and her team at Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> Confections, which is dedicated to all things macarons, nougat, chocolate and nut brittle. They\u2019ve recently moved into a newer, shinier space in Maitland and are redirecting the business focus to stock stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as putting together the wedding favours of your dreams.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> came into being when Lexi, fresh out of Red & Yellow School of Advertising and Design, packed up her life in Cape Town and moved to Durban where she found work at an advertising agency. Being a person who juggles many balls at the same time, she found herself doing art directing, styling and photography. Realising that she hated the advertising side of the work, she left the agency and started a little styling business, while trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to do with her life. The styling work, however, didn\u2019t really do it for her and she made the move, heartbroken, back to Cape Town. She had no money, no job and no set plan but did have a smile on her face and a love for cooking and being in the kitchen, which led her to being taught how to make nougat by her stepmother who was a talented \u2018nougatier\u2019.
\n\"Ma
\n<\/span>Not long after that,<\/span> Annalize Buchanan<\/span><\/a>, well-known caterer and an old family friend, had a wedding to cater for and had been dropped by her nougat supplier. She asked if Lexi could make the nougat for the wedding and Lexi thought \u201cwhy not?\u201d The next week, Annalize called again for more nougat, which was a real turning point for Lexi. She took a stall at The Old Biscuit Mill, and committed to putting all sorts of treats together for it every week.<\/span><\/p>\n

As time went on she added more to her repertoire and just like that, the brand began to grow. She started getting orders and lots of them, and took over a small space near The Biscuit Mill. From there she moved into the mill, where she set up a little factory and a store, and hired a few trusty sidekicks, including Heloise Tyszowiecki, who Lexi describes as the \u2019numbers and systems\u2018 to her super creative brain.
\n\"Ma
\n\"Ma
\n<\/span>It\u2019s worth mentioning that the name of her business is an ode to where she began \u2013 \u2018ma mere\u2019 means \u2018my mother\u2019 in French and honours the inspiration Lexi got from her own mother when they made fudge together when Lexi was a child, as well as her stepmother, who taught her the art of that all-important nougat.<\/span><\/p>\n

Their space at the mill was a busy and bustling one \u2013 not only were Lexi and her team creating macaron masterpieces for weddings and other such orders, but they were stocking and managing the shop front, dealing with customers and perusers \u2013 of which there are many in the Biscuit Mill. While Lexi loved the store, and thought it was a great way for her learn about her customers and their tastes, the flourishing business soon grew out of space at the Biscuit Mill. She decided to move to a bigger space where they could focus on creating beautiful confections without having the logistics of the store to deal with.<\/span><\/p>\n

Right now the Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> team is working on a number of huge projects. They\u2019re making numerous wedding favours (read: <\/span>not<\/b> wedding cakes), providing \u2018white label\u2019 products where they produce items for other brands, and are still supplying wholesale goods to a few stores across the country. Regardless of all this growth, Lexi is still using locally and responsibly sourced ingredients, never once sacrificing her standards or beliefs for the sake of cutting costs. She’s also never lost touch with her inventive side when it comes to flavour combinations. That pink Steri Stumpi macaron is a nod to her childhood but she also pairs flavours such as white chocolate and basil, and even has a speckled egg-topped chocolate nougat for Easter. Everything retains that essence of fun and lightheartedness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What\u2019s next for Lexi and co.? Firstly, export. Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> is currently mapping out a plan to get their delicious brand into the United Kingdom and beyond, which is no mean feat as there\u2019s a mountain of paperwork and safety procedures that have to be put in place first for them be able to do that. She\u2019s also six months pregnant with her first baby \u2013 Heloise will have a tough time encouraging the determined, hard-working business owner, Lexi to stay on maternity leave for at least a month.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lexi has paved her way to success through slow and meticulous hard work. Every single decision she makes is considered and double checked before any money is spent. Her business has always come first \u2013 she and her husband only went on their honeymoon to Thailand last month, after two and a half years of marriage.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the past five years, Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> has gone from Lexi\u2019s kitchen to a stand at a market, to a small shopfront and factory, to an even bigger factory, all the while retaining that homemade feel. Every bite of nougat, nut brittle or fudge tastes like it has been crafted with love and care and her macarons are nothing short of perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lexi Bird and her team at Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re<\/span> are masters of their trade and the world is definitely a much sweeter place with them around.
\n\"Ma
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Ma M<\/span>\u00e8re is available in Cape Town at <\/span>Fabricate<\/a><\/strong> in Gardens,\u00a0<\/span>Four & Twenty<\/strong><\/a> in Wynberg,\u00a0<\/span>Hillcrest berries in Stellenbosch,\u00a0<\/span>Free Range Farmstall in Kommetjie and\u00a0<\/span>The Foodbarn Deli<\/strong><\/a> in Noordhoek. In Johannesburg they are available at\u00a0<\/span>Thrupps, the<\/span>\u00a0Olivedale Spar in Randburg, the<\/span>\u00a0Ferndale Spar, the\u00a0<\/span>Hobart Spar in Bryanston, the<\/span>\u00a0Crowthorne Spar, the\u00a0<\/span>Broadacres Spar,\u00a0<\/span>The Flower Boss in Bryanston,<\/span>\u00a0Fourways Flower Market in Pineslopes and\u00a0<\/span>Jacksons Real Food Market in Bryanston.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

mamere.co.za<\/strong><\/a> | Facebook<\/strong><\/a> | Twitter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re going to start with this: pink Steri Stumpi macarons. Do we have your attention now? Yes, such a beautiful creation actually exists and it\u2019s all thanks to the genius that is Lexi Bird, and her team at Ma M\u00e8re Confections, which is dedicated to all things macarons, nougat, chocolate and nut brittle. They\u2019ve recently moved into a newer, shinier space in Maitland and are redirecting the business focus to stock stores in Cape Town and Johannesburg, as well as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3439,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"acf":[],"brand_slug":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3439"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test10.co.za\/C\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}