Eight Otago-Southland companies have been awarded medals, it was announced yesterday, and are among the 312 medals from 125 Kiwi food and drink producers judged from a record 405 entries.
The Outstanding Food Producer Awards recognise excellence and innovation in food and non-alcoholic drinks and are assessed over seven categories.
Local winners were Kitchen Window of Cromwell, Parakore Honey of Mosgiel, Augustines of Central, Portobello, PURE NZ Ice Cream, Taste of the Alps, Sidekick Soda, all of Wanaka, Hopefield Hemp of Balfour, and Robbie, by Mrs Pickles of Gore.
Head judge Lauraine Jacobs led 27 judges including top chefs such as Peter Gordon and Nici Wicks who reviewed, sniffed and tasted the 405 products.
"It’s almost overwhelming to observe the strength and high quality. Our farmers have invested in care of the land and this was also obvious in the dairy assessment. And we loved the fresh, vital fresh fruit and vegetable entries."
The paddock category led the way, securing an impressive 22 gold medals, followed by the "free-from" category with 21 gold medals, from a record 73 products, and the dairy category with 20 medals.
In the South, gold medals went to Hopefield for its hemp seed oil described by judges as "Coarse, unified flavour, sweet and nutty overtones. Really good hemp seed oil" and PURE New Zealand’s Tiramisu ice cream described as "Perfect balance, great coffee flavour. Good layering".
Wanaka’s Taste of the Alps won three gold medals for its The Orchard, black Doris plum jam, The Prospector, Orange & Central Otago gin marmalade and The Shearer, wild thyme onion jam. The judges described the products as "Yum product, well done. Has a premium feel", "well-balanced flavour. Vibrant colour" and "well-made, appealing and versatile with savoury sweet balance that the judges are looking for", respectively.
Silver medals were awarded to Sidekick for its cherry soda, Parakore Honey for its Hive Energy, and Kitchen Window’s pear & fig chutney.
Bronze went to Augustines for its Central black peaches in Sauvignon Blanc and Robbie’s pickled onions and black garlic sauce.
Following the merger of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards with the NZ Chocolate Awards last year, chocolate entries remained strong with 42 medals awarded. Among them gold medal-winner Foundry Chocolate Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico 70% of which the judges said: "Temper was great with nice snap. Flavour development is amazing — great journey. Texture and mouthfeel really good with a silky mouthfeel. Judges liked it a lot".
High-scoring gold medal-winners are in contention for Category Champion Awards to be announced at the Champions Party in Auckland on April 10. — APL
