Toaster tour trumpets special peanut butter

Pic Picot is spreading the word about his low-sugar peanut butter with his Big Toaster food caravan offering free tastes of it around Northland. Photo/Supplied

A giant toaster is popping up in towns around Northland to give people a taste of Pic Picot's Peanut Butter.

Mr Picot's "Big Toaster Tour" has its origins in a visit he paid to the Bay of Islands 20 years ago, when he sampled some US-made "home style" peanut butter, which had a low sugar content.

He later found all the peanut butter in New Zealand supermarkets was made in China, where they not only added sugar, but "were chucking emulsifiers, antioxidants and litres of unspecified hydrogenated oils in as well".

In 2007, Mr Picot bought a 10kg bag of peanuts, roasted and ground them and ate the result.

"It was yummy. I fed it to my 12-year old son and he liked it. His mates liked it too - one even bought some with his pocket money."

He began roasting peanuts with a converted concrete mixer in his garage and grinding in the kitchen before moving into industrial premises in Nelson.

Now he has 16 staff processing two tonnes of peanuts and selling 6000 jars of peanut butter daily to supermarkets throughout New Zealand, 200 shops in Australia, outlets in Hong Kong and mail order customers around the world.

Peanuts could potentially be grown in Northland.

The Nelson business uses peanuts grown in Australia.

Mr Picot has an eyesight problem. He launched the Big Toaster Tour of New Zealand in partnership with Vogels Bread and Dualit Toasters last year and travels with a guide dog and driver.

The Big Toaster is a silver Airstream food caravan with two enormous slices of toast protruding from its roof. Towed by a ute with an onboard generator, it can produce hot toast and peanut butter within minutes of setting up.

It is an eye-catching rig, and people who stop for a look at it are offered a free slice of toast, liberally spread with Pic's Peanut Butter and a range of toppings.

Tastes are free, but for anyone after a serious snack a donation to the Blind Foundation will get them a healthy lunch.

The Big Toaster Tour kicked off in Kaiwaka yesterday and travels to Dargaville today before continuing up the west coast to Baylys Beach and Opononi tomorrow and attending the Waimamaku Wild West Festival on Saturday.

On Sunday, the toaster will move to Ninety Mile Beach via Kohukohu and will be at Cape Reinga on Monday and at Kerikeri and Paihia on Tuesday.

Next Wednesday it will be at Kamo High School and the Old Stone Butter Factory in Whangarei before the tour ends at Ruakaka Beach next Thursday.