Long serving NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers Association committee member, Jackie Matthews, has been appointed as the new Chief Judge for the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards.
Association President Alex Gimenez said the NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers Association was delighted to announce Jackie Matthews’ two-year appointment to oversee judging. “Jackie has huge technical knowledge of ice cream and ice cream manufacturing. She is a former President and Vice President of the Association and she’s a long serving member of the Association’s Technical Committee. We’re delighted to have someone of Jackie’s calibre take up this important position, which helps improve the quality of locally made ice cream and celebrates the finest examples of New Zealand ice cream, gelato and sorbet.”
Jackie Matthews said she was ‘honoured, delighted and excited’ to take up the role. “After having worked in the ice cream industry for more than 25 years I understand the value and prestige the Awards have in promoting the excellence of NZ ice cream. For manufacturers, validation by an independent judging panel which says you have got everything technically correct is very powerful. It’s great recognition for the whole team involved in the making – from creating the recipes through to the final ready-to-enjoy product.
“Ice cream is a wonderful treat, it’s universal and everyone from one to 101 loves it. However, it’s a complex technical product and I’m pleased to have an opportunity working with the industry to help it continue to evolve and improve,” she said.
Matthews is planning to extend the pool of talented judges and hopes to draw upon the experience of food writers and their understanding of consumer tastes by adding them to the judging panel to assess products alongside technical judges. Additionally, having more judges will allow the majority of assessment to be undertaken at The FoodBowl, Auckland, over one day. The second day will enable the final tasting to select category winners and supreme champions with the panel having fresh palates.
More than 300 ice creams, gelatos and sorbets are expected to be entered into this year’s Awards. Entries for the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards 2020 open in early August for six weeks.
The timeline for the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards 2020 is:
• Entries open – Monday 3 August 2020
• Judging – Saturday 26 September at The FoodBowl in South Auckland
• Conference and Gala Awards Dinner – Wednesday 4 November, Cordis Auckland
The announcement of Jackie Matthews’ new role follows the appointment of Marvellous Marketing to run the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards 2020 and New Zealand Ice Cream Month in February 2021.
Gimenez finished saying, “I’d like to formally acknowledge the work of former chief judge Kay McMath who oversaw the Awards for 15 years. On behalf of the Board we thank Kay for her dedication.”
