Hospitality Business Magazine

New Zealander Jason Tarrant has been announced Master Judge for the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards 2021.

Tarrant is the first New Zealander to be head judge for the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards following the eight-year reign of Australian, Russell Smith. In 2020 another Australian, Scott Bolch was announced as Smith’s successor, however, the current Covid-19 travel restrictions mean Bolch is unavailable.

NZ cheese companies are also being asked to nominate their young cheesemakers.

The Awards are owned and organised by the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) and NZSCA Chair Neil Willman thanked Jason Tarrant for stepping into the role. “It’s wonderful to have a local Master Judge of the calibre of Jason, his experience and knowledge of the NZ dairy industry is extensive.”

Tarrant is General Manager of Technical and Strategic Projects at Open Country Dairy, a role he assumed last year. It follows a dairy industry career which began as a management trainee at Mainland in 1993. Since then, he has worked for multiple iconic New Zealand dairy companies including; Fonterra, Whitestone Cheese Company, NZ Organic Dairy Company, Open Country and Goodman Fielder. Tarrant’s experience covers all forms of cheesemaking from speciality and organic to commodity cheddar.

Tarrant admitted to having to consider the role when he was offered it but said; “I’m proud to take the mantle of the Master Judge and assist the panel of experienced judges assess New Zealand’s finest cheeses. After having judged at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards for a number of years I appreciate how robust the judging system is. It’s not about one person it’s about the cheese and the judges on the day.”

The judging panel for the Ignite Colleges Chef’s Choice Award, which was introduced last year, has also been announced. The panel is Alfie Ingham, head chef of Hugo’s Bistro; Volker Marecek, executive chef of the Cordis Hotel and Jasbir Kaur, Culinary Arts Manager and General Manager of Ignite Colleges. Entries in this category are judged by the trio who will be looking for a cheese which can be used effectively on a hotel/restaurant/café menu giving wonderful depth of flavour.

NZ cheese companies are also being asked to nominate their young cheesemakers for biannual Aspiring Cheesemaker Award which makes a welcome return in 2021. This award recognises the cheesemaker who shows exceptional dedication to developing their career and learning the art of cheesemaking.

Entries are accepted until Wednesday 3 February. Judging for the 19^th NZ Champions of Cheese Awards 2021 will be held at Ignite Colleges on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 February 2021. Medal winners will be named on Tuesday 16 March with the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards Gala Dinner at Sky City in Hamilton on Wednesday 5 May 2021.

The NZ Champions of Cheese 2021 Trophies are: