Judging for the 2021 New Zealand Food Awards kicks off this week with some of the industry’s biggest names bringing technical, culinary, scientific, and commercial expertise to the judging panel.
Renowned Chef Peter Gordon ONZM has joined the Food Awards’ whānau. He says quality, taste, texture and presentation of the products, as well as innovation, must be spot on. “I’m also looking for those who are committed to ethical, sustainable growing and production practices, who celebrate the manaakitanga afforded to us by those who grow our food and those who pay attention to New Zealand and the Pacific’s economy, employment and future.”
The chef, and his partner Alastair Carruthers, have launched a new venture – Homeland – supporting the local food sector.
“Homeland is here to sell great food in a damaged world. Insights from more than 100 producers, trade and economic agencies grappling with COVID-19 shaped its design. Our biggest driver is powerful, sustainable kai for everyone, and we support food producers delivering sustainable kai that comes from Aotearoa and the Pacific.”
Also new to the judging panel this year is registered nutritionist Danijela Unkovich of Nourish & Tempt. The Massey University alumni has 88,000 followers on Instagram and trained at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu London Culinary School.
She’s looking forward to providing a nutrition-focused lens to judging this year.
Head judge Kay McMath has been part of the awards’ programme for over a decade. “The New Zealand Food Awards is the most robust judging of food and beverage products that I have been involved with. In no other competition which I have headed does each product get reviewed by such a wide range of disciplines – from food technologists to packaging experts, to food regulators and nutritionists. Each is able to provide expert feedback on a product’s performance in their specialist area,” she says.
“This year, the judging has three themes – innovation, sustainability and excellence. The quality mark that is awarded to top performing products is a real assurance that the product is the very best in its category.”
Alongside the panel of expert judges this year will be four “consumer judges” – people who represent Kiwi households, eating habits and various demographics.
The judging process is built on the pillars of technical capability, consumer acceptability, regulatory compliance and food quality and safety. Entries are required to meet their category criteria and baseline scoring for each judging phase to progress. This ensures consumers can trust any brand wearing the New Zealand Food Awards quality mark, know the product is manufactured here in New Zealand and that it represents outstanding food technology, production, manufacturing and marketing.
Finalists will be announced 18 August and the winners will be announced 14 October at the gala dinner in Palmerston North.
The awards programme is made possible with the support of Palmerston North City Council, New Zealand Food Safety, Countdown, AsureQuality, Cuisine Magazine, KiwiSo, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, Villa Maria, FMCG Business, FoodHQ, The Food Innovation Network, and The New Zealand Institute of Food Science & Technology Ltd.
2021 Categories
Product Awards
Beverage – Sponsored by the Food Innovation Network
Artisan – Sponsored by Cuisine
Chilled – Sponsored by FoodHQ
Below Zero
Pantry – Sponsored by Countdown
Primary Sector – Sponsored by New Zealand Food Safety
Health and Wellbeing – Sponsored by Countdown
Novel – Sponsored by KiwiSo
Product Lifetime Achievement Award – Sponsored by AsureQuality
Business Awards
Business Innovation
Food Safety Culture – Sponsored by New Zealand Food Safety
Community Awards
Food Hero – Sponsored by Palmerston North City Council
Key dates
18 August – Finalists announced and tickets to the gala dinner go on sale
18-31 August – People’s Choice voting opens
14 October – Gala dinner and winners announced, Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North, 7pm-11pm
For more information, visit www.foodawards.co.nz
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● Twitter: @NZFoodAwards
● Instagram: @NewZealandFoodAwards
