About UsTHE MAHURANGI DUCK.In the 1980's Pekin duck were being produced under the name 'Mahurangi Ducklings' on a farm on Old Woodcocks Road, approx. 11 kms from Warkworth. The ducks quickly established a reputation, especially amongst the Asian population, for their excellent flavour and excellent skin quality, an important feature when ducks are being barbecued. In January 2001 the farm was purchased by Peter and Katie Mitchell -recently arrived from England- Peter had returned to New Zealand after an absence of twenty-six years. The farm was renamed Hill Foot Farm and the Mitchell's set forth to re-establish the reputation of Mahurangi Ducklings under the new brand name THE MAHURANGI DUCK. Although processing of the ducks is now done away from the farm all the ducks are bred and raised at the farm in loose- housed barns. This feature is very important to our Biosecurity and is virtually unavailable in any other part of the poultry industry. The ducks are fed twice a day on GE FREE FOOD and their welfare monitored daily. Our ducks are can be processed in either the Chinese tradition-head and feet on- or in the European preferred way- head and feet off-. We can also arrange Halal processing for the Muslim community. We also produce duck portions and have available duck breasts, legs, thighs and wings. Livers, gizzards, hearts and duck fat are available on request. Ducks and duck portions can be bought at the farm or we can arrange for larger orders to be delivered directly to the purchaser. We are also looking at the possibility of having the ducks smoked and/or BBQ, we hope to have this organised by April 2004. Keeping the farm at the standard we require to produce high quality ducks is on going, however, we now aim to concentrate on the marketing of our product and make sure it is available to all supermarkets, restaurants and the local community who want to enjoy a high quality product at a readily available price. Peter is very keen to meet interested clients and takes two days a week to get out and about meeting clients and discussing what product may suit their type of business best. Katie enjoys sourcing recipes to share with those who may be a bit nervous of how to prepare and cook duck and has planned some 'tasting' days for later on in the year. The children are also involved with the farm and have started a small enterprise, with a couple of friends selling bagged duck 'poo' . Excellent for the garden and a good way to earn pocket money!
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