Well if you didn't know already, Krispy Kreme has hit the East Coast of South Africa! Yes, the doors were officially open to the public this morning at 7am and judging by the mass sleep-out over night, many of the locals couldn't wait to get their hands on the sugary goodness! I was lucky enough to attend the VIP opening on Monday night where members of the media and local celebs got to experience not only the delicious selection of donuts and drinks but also go behind the scenes to see how the donuts are made!
With much fanfare, the VIP opening was all that it was hyped up to be, with local artists consisting of Kyle Deutsch, DJ Deemo and Sketchy Bongo wowing the crowds with their chart topping hits and the Fudart food truck providing mouth watering burgers to whet the appetites of the guests before the opening of the store. Guests were then led in by limited numbers so they could get the full Krispy Kreme experience. Servers greeted us with big smiles and asked us to select any 12 donuts of our choice to fill up the dozen box, the selection is phenomenal! From the original glazed to the gourmet, of which the New York Cheesecake was my favourite, everything was packed and fresh! Along with our box of 12, each guest received a dozen of original glaze to go along with it.
Next up was choosing our beverage of choice, Krispy Kreme is renowned for their great coffee's which compliment their donuts oh so well but being Durban, I needed something to cool me down from the humidity. They have a great range of chilled drinks too, I opted for the Peanut butter & cookie milkshake which was incredible! We were then given a guided tour of the kitchen, which started off with the making of the dough for the great donuts, it then gets put into the giant donut making machine, called the 270, which can make 3274 donuts in an hour on full production! The dough makes it way through the cutters which cut and shape it, it then goes through the proving conveyor and then dropped into the hot oil river, flipped over to ensure even frying and then almost immediately gets galzed to seal in that freshness and great flavour. It is essentially ready to eat right then but they pass through a cooler which cools them down for further prep.
For the gourmet donuts, they then get taken to different stations for the various toppings. I tried my hand and making a few and I have to say, it's a skillful art that needs lots of patience and lots of practice to perfect! Working with the delicate donuts is no easy feat as I learned the hard way with my first failed attempt but eventually I sort of got the hang of it and got a thumbs up from Kwanele my helpful supervisor. All in all it was a great experience and a fantastic way to summon the opening of a great global franchise on our door steps. I can foresee myself going back again and again for more Krispy Kremey goodness, and if you're in the Umhlanga area, be on the look out for the "Hot Now" red sign, which this is switched on, it means there is fresh donuts in production!
Pictures by Al Nicoll photography
