16
Business
September 7 – 20, 2013
www.SanTanSun.com
Confectioner concocts sweet, savory treats BY TRACY HOUSE
With hand-crafted products named “Nutwhats” and “Scribbles” local candy creator Lisa Rast is making a name for herself and her confectionery company, Nutwhats. Nutwhats launched in 2011, but Rast says she’s been making candy for more than 10 years. She started experimenting with candy making in 1999 introducing her product at festivals and then in 2011, what started as a hobby while teaching ice skating, became a full-time venture. “We realized we have a very unique product.” “It’s very creative and I got my degree
in (biochemical) engineering. I like to experiment, anyway,” Rast notes about candy making. She started to experiment with her own recipes and came up with Scribbles and Nutwhats. “It needed a name and we didn’t know what to call it,” Rast explains, “And we still don’t know what to call it. When you try it, everybody would always say, ‘What do you call it?’” Rast has 15 products in her candy line. Husband, Jim, and sons, Brandon and Gavin, are her taste testers. “The first one was the pecan Scribble,” Rast says, “From there I came up with cashew coconut Scribble. Then there is the
ON THE SHELVES: AJ’s Fine Food is carrying eight flavors of Nutwhats confections. Submitted photo
peanut pretzel Scribble, The cacao beans are which is my favorite.” She imported from Bali, put that one together Dominican Republic, Peru, based on her father’s snack Bolivia and Madagascar preferences. Rast created to make Rast’s uniquely all the recipes, bringing regionally flavored together flavors she has chocolate bars. Each tried and likes, dabbling regional candy takes two to come up with new to three days to produce. combinations. Rast says she’s always been Rast produces all of fascinated by chocolate. her confections in her “It’s very labor intensive commercial kitchen on and it kind of brings out her private property. She the engineer in me,” she says they’ll be looking for explains. “Each region has a new location in 2014. “It’s a unique flavor, and that’s SWEET LIFE: Jim and Lisa Rast, not flavors I’ve added.” growing quickly,” she says of the family business. “It’s owners of Nutwhats. Lisa is Rast also makes “Beer the creator and Jim is the a lot of work.” Brittys” using locally This isn’t a 9 to 5 job for taste tester. Submitted photo brewed Four Peaks Beer. Rast, who is sometimes up “This is brand new,” Rast at 6 a.m. and works to 2 a.m. depending mentions. “One of the new flavors is a on what is going on for the weekend. In spin off from beer britty and we actually addition to online orders and corporate use jalapenos in it.” gifting Whatnuts just launched in AJ’s Whatnuts products are available Fine Foods. “We got in there the end of online through Rast’s website, nuwhats. June so we’re very new and we’re really com. In addition Rast also makes party trying to help it grow. They’ve been favors, gift boxes and corporate gifting. really good for us.” The bars are exclusively at Bodega in The family also goes to farmers Scottsdale and at the farmers markets. markets in Gilbert and Scottsdale putting their sweet and savory Tracy House is the SanTan Sun News confections out to the public. Rast says news editor. She lives in Ironwood Vistas she brings Nutwhats and her newly with her husband and four children and launched “Bean to Bar Chocolate” to the can be reached at Tracy@SanTanSun. markets. com.
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