The festa season bursts like a firework every May and, with some 90 religious feasts celebrated every year in Malta and Gozo, it heralds a busy time for stall owners.

Traditionally, stalls at village feasts sell local delicacies such as imqaret, delicious pastry stuffed with dates and fried in oil. However, in recent years, they have been joined by all manner of mobile kiosks selling fast food, doughnuts and ice cream.

However, one delicious ingredient that makes village feasts what they are has remained unchanged since its origin back in the time of the Knights of St John – nougat. The production of nougat – from the Sicilian cubbaita to Greek mandolato – has been almost endemic in the Mediterranean, but when it comes to Maltese qubbajt, there are only a few people who know more about it than Robert Caruana who, together with his wife Marie, own the Beehive confectionery in Żebbuġ, where they specialise in traditional Maltese nougat.

Robert’s father Carmelo set up the family business in 1945 and Robert, as a young boy barely tall enough to see over the top of the counter, spent his childhood summers helping his father man the stalls at village feasts. As he grew older, Robert became involved on the production side and some 20 years ago, he started his own business.

Robert’s business has gone from strength to strength and recently, Robert moved to a larger production facility. Moreover, he increased his number of stalls from five to 12. It’s a family business in the true sense of the word with husband, wife, children and a number of employees involved.

The Maltese love of nougat has remained undiminished throughout the years and this, coupled with tourist demand, keeps Robert and his team busy for more than 12 hours a day, especially during summer.

Robert tells me that there is a pattern to buying nougat.

“Tourists usually visit a village feast on a Saturday to watch the fireworks and afterwards sample Maltese nougat. The Maltese, on the other hand, usually leave it until Sunday to indulge their sweet tooth.”

I am a bit apprehensive to ask Robertfor his recipe – however, he tells me that there is no secret to it. Nougat is a mixture of egg white, sugar, water, candied fruit and glucose.

However, Robert also adds a secret ingredient that has been passed down from one generation to the next.

The more traditional nougat is generally the soft type and comes in various flavours, including vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, mint, banana and orange, with either almonds or peanuts in the mix. The second type is the hard nut variety, which combines almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, sesame seeds, toffee and caramel in a brittle concoction.

Żebbuġ is as renowned for its nougat as Qormi is for its bread. When I meet Robert and Marie, they are preparing for their local feast – it will certainly be one of the busiest weekends of the year. As they keep themselves busy, I can appreciate the sheer variety of nougat in various stages of production.

Marie is as passionate about nougat as her husband.

“I love the atmosphere at the stalls. During village feasts, people are generally in a good mood and there is always a positive vibe.”

After 27 years in the business, Marie still enjoys meeting customers and chatting with tourists. Of course, the highlight is giving customers samples to taste.

Marie takes pride in her work and wants customers to enjoy the product. She always recommends that nougat should be kept at room temperature, ideally in a plastic bag, and should never be refrigerated. Kept in this way, nougat can last up to a year despite having no preservatives.

Another tip she likes to share is to chop up the soft nougat and mix it with ice cream – this makes for a scrumptious dessert, ideal for the summer months.

Business is certainly booming and the demand is such that they now supply a large number of the tourist shops all over the islands – the peanut variety is particularly popular and Robert and Marie are constantly getting calls asking them to replenish dwindling stocks.

After the last feast in September, things generally become less hectic and they start preparing for the Christmas festivities. In reality, nougat sells all year round and after Christmas, Robert and Marie start preparing their figolli and prinjolata. Still, it is nougat that has the biggest demand all year round.

Far from being some quaint practice from the past, Maltese nougat has become a lucrative business with a market that appears to be growing rather than diminishing. However, the cultural aspect should not be overlooked.

In a number of recent historical re-enactments the brittle toffee and nut variety was actually cooked over a fire just as it would have been done during the time of the Knights of St John, with the audience having the rare opportunity to taste nougat while still hot. The queues were apparently endless, with locals and tourists eager to taste one of Malta’s sweetest traditions.