SMALL BATCH, FERMENTED FLAVOUR
In an era when people are becoming more conscious of where the food on their plate comes from, Mangawhai-based fermenter Willow Banbury has founded The Sour Maiden.
Raised in coastal Whangārei surrounded by permaculture gardens, banana plantations, and homegrown food, Willow grew up with an instinctive understanding of seasonal eating and the extraordinary range of produce that Northland's climate can yield. That early connection to place and ingredient has shaped everything she does today.
With a background in the art world, creativity has always been central to Willow's life. Fermentation became a natural extension of that energy – a way to combine two passions into one craft. After relocating to Mangawhai with her two children five years ago, she gradually built The Sour Maiden into a small-batch fermentation business rooted in the region's unique agricultural landscape. The mission was clear from the outset: to support gut health while celebrating the producers and ingredients that make Northland genuinely distinctive.
Using traditional fermentation methods, each batch is carefully crafted and allowed to develop naturally over time. The small-batch approach prioritises the seasons, quality, and flavour, while preserving the beneficial bacteria that make fermented foods so valuable. Local spray-free cabbages, green papaya and pineapples grown in Waipu, and fresh turmeric from a small farm near Whangārei form the backbone of the range – and Willow knows every grower by name.
"I am forever inspired by what is growing here around us,” she explains, “the terroir that is the soil we live on. We have such an incredible range of produce available to us in Northland, yet so many people don't realise what is in our backyards. I love making connections with people, sharing knowledge, and getting to tell the story of the ingredients and the stories of people who grow our food."
The current range includes four sauerkrauts, a vibrant kimchi, and a rotating selection of seasonal creations, all anchored by bold flavour and quality local produce. The Sour Maiden can be found at the Mangawhai Beach Market every Saturday, the Grey Lynn Farmers Market every second Sunday, through a number of local stockists, and on the menu at some of Mangawhai's favourite food trucks.
For Willow, the work has always been about knowledge-sharing and connecting the community with local produce, seasonal eating and the transformative art of fermentation.