Hospitality Business Magazine

Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards medal winners announced

Foodies have a slew of top quality products – including many new releases – to look out for when they are shopping, following the announcement of the 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards medal winners.

GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

DAIRY, GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Bellefield Butter, Miso Cultured Butter

Charlies Gelato, Strawberry Gelato

Lewis Road, Gold Top Organic Non-Homogenised Jersey Milk

Meyer Cheese, Smoked Gouda

The Drunken Nanny, Lemony Lush

The Drunken Nanny, Black Tie

The Drunken Nanny, Dill Lush

Whitestone Cheese Company, Ferry Road Halloumi

Whitestone Cheese Company, Vintage Five Forks

Whitestone Cheese Company, Vintage Windsor Blue

Wooden Boutique Freezery, Blackcurrant Crunch Ice Cream

EARTH, GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Augustine’s of Central, Preserved Sundrop Apricots in a Riesling Syrup

Barker’s of Geraldine, Fruit for Cheese, Feijoa and Pear

Chia Sisters Bottled by the Sun, New Zealand Feijoa & Apple Juice

Greytown Honey, Kamahi Honey

Greytown Honey, Manuka Honey (200+ MGO)

Greytown Honey, Manuka Honey (400+ MGO)

Harraways HARR-OS Oat Bites Indian Spice

Kauri Kitchen Cranberry & Walnut Loaf

Kiwi Quinoa

Manaaki Kamokamo Pickle

Mamia’s, Ethiopian inspired plant based cooking sauce & relish

Nut Brothers Super Crunch Peanut Butter

Pinoli Mediterranean Pine Nuts

Roebuck Farm, Leaves + Shoots

Sweetree, Marokopa Spring Honey

The Clareville Bakery, The Clareville Cracker

The Yummy Fruit Company, SweeTango Apples

Thoroughbread Paleo Gold

Thoroughbread Paleo Fruit Loaf

DRINK, (part of the EARTH category) GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

Chia Sisters Bottled by the Sun, Nelson Apple & Boysenberry Juice

Chia Sisters Bottled by the Sun, New Zealand Feijoa & Apple Juice

PADDOCK, GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

A Lady Butcher, Free Range Coppa

BavariaNZ Fennel Delight

Kiwi Bacon Maple Middle Bacon

L’Authentique, Chicken Liver Parfait with Shiraz Jelly

Pastrami & Rye, Pastrami

Provenance Lamb by Provenance Meat

WATER, GOLD MEDAL WINNERS

East Rock – Gisborne Terakihi

Genevieve’s Original Scallop Mousse

SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

DAIRY, SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

Clearwater Farm, Organic Honey Yoghurt

Clevedon Buffalo Company, Truffled Pepper & Porcini Cheese Tartinade

Lewis Road Creamery, Premium Garlic & Parsley Butter

Performance Protein, Vanilla Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink

Pure New Zealand Ice Cream, Kaffir Lime and Ginger Ice Cream

The Drunken Nanny, Fresh Lush

The Drunken Nanny, Goat Milk Kefir

Whitestone Cheese Company, Mt Domet Double Cream Brie

Whitestone Cheese Company, Lindis Pass Brie

Whitestone Cheese Company, Probiotic Camembert

Whitestone Cheese Company, Windsor Blue

DRINK, (part of the EARTH category) SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

Aroha Elderflower Cordial

Greenleaf Organics, Lemon Switchel

Heke Homemade Herbals, Awake and Aware

Happy Belly Ferments, Ginger Beer Flavoured Water Kefir

Hakanoa Handmade Drinks, Wild Ferment Lime & Chilli Ginger Beer

Hill Road, Fresh Orange Juice

Something Big is Brewing, Kombucha Kraft Ginger Kombucha

EARTH, SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

Barker’s of Geraldine, Fruit for Cheese Blackberry and Brandy

Blue Frog, Raspberry and Vanilla Granola

Daily Organics, Apple Cider Vinegar

Greytown Honey, Native Honey

Greytown Honey, Wildflower Honey

Hunt and Gather Bee Co, Rewarewa Honey

Kiwi Saffron, 100% Kiwi Saffron, NZ grown saffron threads

Forage and Ferment, Mexi Kraut

Mandy’s Horseradish Pure

Mandy’s Horseradish Sauce

NoShortcuts Gourmet Chutneys, Feijoa Kasundi

Omahu Valley Citrus – Spicy Mandarin Marmalade

Pam’s Finest Saffron & Ricotta Pasta Sauce

Pic’s Peanut Butter, Boysenberry Jelly

Revive Cafe, Revive Bites Peanut Choc

Proper Crisps, Marlborough Sea Salt

Pure Delish, Raspberry & Maple Nut Nograin-ola

Pure Delish, Pecan, Ginger & Coconut Nograin-ola

Pure Delish, Primal Bar

Something to Crow About, Cashew Cherry Chia Muesli

Sonjas Taste of Austria, Gluten-Free Vegetarian Mushroom & Brie Pie

The Damn Good Food Company, Wholesome Frozen Treats Citrus Zing

The Damn Good Food Company, Wholesome Frozen Treats Double Berry

The Lucky Taco, Chipotle Chicken Fiesta Kit

Thoroughbread, Paleo Seed

Waiheke Herbs Aioli with Herbs

The Remarkable Chocolate Co, Organic Chocolate Bark

Wise Boys Aioli

PADDOCK, SILVER MEDAL WINNERS

A Lady Butcher, New Zealand Wagyu Bresaola

Costal Lamb, Cap off Rumps

Frank’s Sausages, Veal Bratwurst

Homegrown Farm Fresh Meats, Speckle Park Beef

Kiwi Bacon, Streaky Bacon

L’Authentique, Pork & Fennel Sausages

Whitestone Cheese Company, Shenley Station Blue and Steak Gourmet Pies

BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

DAIRY, BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

Bellefield Butter, Ghee Manuka

Bellefield Clotted Cream

Clevedon Buffalo, Herb & Garlic Cheese Tartinade

Clevedon Buffalo Company, Smoked Paprika Cheese Tartinade

Creative Cooking, Garlic & Rosemary Superseed Crackers

The Drunken Nanny, Pasteurised Goat Milk

Whitestone Cheese Company, Shenley Station Blue

DRINK, (part of the Earth category) BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

Fern Glen Farm, Performance Protein, Coffee Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink

Fern Glen Farm, Performance Protein, Chocolate Flavoured Sheep Milk Drink

Hakanoa Handmade Drinks, Dry Ginger Beer

The Kvas Company, Brod Green Hemp and Manuka Kvas

EARTH, BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

Augustines of Central, Augustines Quince Paste

Blue Frog, Apricot and Hemp

Blue Frog, Apple and Maple Granola

Cartel Food Company, Black Bean, Roasted Corn and Chilli Lime Burrito

Ceres Organics, Fritter Mix Herbalicious

Fix & Fogg Coffee and Maple Peanut Butter

Genevieve’s Saffron & Orange Vinaigrette

Greytown Honey, Clover Honey

Greytown Honey, Manuka Honey (100+ MGO)

Kohkoz, Golden Falafel Bites

Kohkoz, Traditional Hummus

Isobel Olives, Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Molly Woppy Handmade Gingerbread Kids Iced Artisan Cookies

Molly Woppy Handmade Milk Choccy Chunk Artisan Cookies

Nanuk, Frozen on the Island, Avocado ice cream on the stick

Prof’s Chilli Jam

Pam’s Finest Tomato, Almond & Olive Pasta Sauce

Proper Crisps, Onion with Green Chives

The Lucky Taco, Veg Calabacita Fiesta Kit

The New Zealand Quinoa Co, Natural Quinoa

Traditional Country Preserves Sugar-free Plum Sauce

Ziggy Ardor, Saffron Tawari Honey

PADDOCK, BRONZE MEDAL WINNERS

Olliff Farm Premium Pasture Eggs

Zaroa NZ, 100% Pure Natural High Country Lamb Bacon Rasher

Zaroa NZ, 100% Pure Natural High Country Lamb Breakfast Bratwurst Saussi

Expert judging team

Twenty food professionals assessed more than 180 food and drinks during judging at AUT School of Hospitality & Tourism on Saturday 9 March. Following the judges’ assessment of taste, producers’ sustainability, brand story and packaging were also considered and 129 medal winners have been chosen. Shoppers are able to identify products as they will carry the gold, silver and bronze medal stickers from the 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards – a guarantee of product quality.

For the third year, well-known New Zealand food writer and champion for locally-grown and made food products, Lauraine Jacobs was head judge. She said it was great to see the innovative approach many food producers had taken using premium ingredients predominantly grown and harvested in New Zealand.

“Dairy and cheese were strong this year, a tribute to hardworking farmers around the country who produce quality cow, sheep, goat and buffalo milk. Drinks were also strong with the category hotly contested with a range of innovative products, many of which were fermented. Products specially created for the increasing number of special dietary requirements were catered for in the new ‘Free From’ category and it was great to see such a diverse range of entries, the majority of which were of excellent quality,” Lauraine said.

Flavour, aroma, texture, appearance and innovation account for 80% of the judging mark, with the rest of marks coming from brand story, packaging and sustainable business practice. Specialist sustainability judge Emily King of Spira Consulting noted that this year the sustainability detail provided with entries was higher than previous years.

“Businesses are better at explaining their story and understanding what sustainability means, which reflects the trends we are seeing with food and beverage. Well done to our top entries for going above and beyond standard business practice.”

Organiser of the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, Kathie Bartley said it was wonderful to see the breadth and depth of entries which came from throughout New Zealand. Particularly pleasing was the increase in the number of entries from the South Island. She also noted the new ‘Free From’ category was popular with producers, with many producers developing new products specifically to cater for a number of specialist diets including gluten-free, paleo, dairy-free and vegan.

After three years of awards Kathie Bartley said there are plenty of Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards medal stickers on food and drink products around the country. “I urge food lovers to look for products with our Champion, Gold, Silver and Bronze Medal stickers. These stickers are an independent endorsement of quality – a promise to food lovers that the food and drink products will be delicious!”

All Gold Medal winners are in contention for the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards Supreme Champion, Category Champion and Special Awards, which will be announced on Tuesday 16 April. The Champion awards include 2019 Emerson’s Dairy Champion, Farro Earth Champion, Ara Wines Paddock Champion and Water Champion, one of which will be also named 2019 Outstanding NZ Food Producer Supreme Champion. The following winners will also be named: NZ Life & Leisure Spirit of New Zealand Award, Outstanding Sustainability, FMCG Business Outstanding New Product, Label & Litho Outstanding Packaging, Fresh.co.nz Outstanding Drink, Outstanding Free-From Product and Outstanding Startup Producer. The Coast People’s Choice Awards to Outstanding NZ Food Producer and Outstanding NZ Farmers’ Market will also be revealed then.