Taranaki cookie lovers can get their festive fix from Kate this year

Kate Delehanty will be at the Stratford A&P Show this year selling the popular Cookie Time cookies. Photo / Ilona Hanne

Kate Delehanty is clocking up the miles from her family home in Okaiwa this summer, as she travels around the area for her summer job.

Kate is one of the Cookie Time cookie sellers this year, a job she said she “couldn’t believe” she had got.

“I’d found out about the Cookie Time summer job programme last year but was busy with exams, so knew I wanted to apply this year. I put my application in but hadn’t expected to be successful because I know how many people apply for the jobs each year. I was really pleased when they told me I had been successful.”

Kate, who has just completed her first year at Lincoln University studying for a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness and food marketing, says the job appealed to her from the start.

“I like the idea of learning about running your own business, it’s a good skill to learn that will help me in the future.”

Working for a company that supports various charities also appealed, she says.

“Every year a portion of profits from Cookie Time Christmas cookie sales goes to the Cookie Time Charitable Trust, helping Kiwi kids in a range of ways including by supporting the Dyslexia Foundation.”

Sellers also choose their own local charity to receive buckets of Christmas cheer, in the form of buckets of cookies, and Kate says she has chosen to support the Kai Kitchen Trust.

“People can purchase a bucket to be donated to them which is a great way to support a local charity.”

Kate will have a stall at this year’s Stratford A&P Show and says she thinks people will like trying out the new flavours as well as the regular flavours.

“We have eight flavours this year, including two new ones. The new flavours are regular Lemon Meringue White Chocolate and gluten-free Berries and Cream. Then we have the six regular flavours which are a gluten-free chocolate chip, regular chocolate chip, salted caramel, apricot chocolate, cranberry white chocolate and Chocalicious which is suitable for vegans as it is plant-based.”

For people who don’t make it to the A&P Show, there are plenty of other opportunities to try the cookies and make an order, says Kate.

“Over the weekends I am selling the cookies outside Countdown in Hawera on Saturdays, and outside Countdown in Stratford on Sundays. People can also call 0800 X COOKIE to book a seller visit.”