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.
