New Zealand ice cream, gelato and sorbet makers are encouraged to enter the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards 2023, which close this Friday 30 June.
The country’s only dedicated ice cream and gelato awards have been organised by the NZ Ice Cream Association since 1997 to celebrate Aotearoa’s finest and share the results with Kiwi ice cream and gelato lovers.
Judging for all categories (except Pacific Flavours & Ingredients Kids’ Choice) will be held at Americold Logistics Manukau, over the last weekend of July. It will be overseen by Chief Judge, Jackie Matthews who will be supported by a panel of 20 judges and 10 stewards. They will choose 14 Category Champions and two Supreme Champions; Americold Supreme Champion and Formula Foods Supreme Boutique Champion. The Pacific Flavours & Ingredients Kids’ Choice judging will be held on Tuesday 2 August.
This year, Chocolate ice cream, gelato, sorbet and dairy-free frozen novelties have been added as a separate category. Each year the Awards have a special class to encourage flavour experimentation, this year it’s ‘Best of Citrus’. Products in this category must be comprised of citrus fruit as a base flavour, citrus fruit ripples, sauces or citrus inclusions. Citrus fruit includes oranges, mandarins, limes, lemon, grapefruit and yuzu.
Medal winners will be announced on Monday 22 August before the New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers Association Conference and NZ Ice Cream &Gelato Awards Cocktail Party on Thursday 31 August.
The NZ Ice Cream Association held its AGM earlier this month and elected a new executive committee. Kristy Giles, Executive Director Appleby Farms Ice Cream was elected president and Dene Brosnan, General Manager of New Zealand Creameries was elected vice president. They are supported by the executive committee, which includes Karl Tiefenbacher (Kaffee Eis), immediate past president; Marcus Moore (Much Moore), Hannah Wood (Little ‘Lato), Ben Schurr (Tip Top) and Sonya Sichbury (Lewis Road Creamery).
NZ ICE CREAM & GELATO AWARDS 2023 TROPHIES
Supreme Champions
• Americold Supreme Champion
• Formula Foods Supreme Boutique Champion
Category Champions
• Standard Vanilla Ice Cream Champion
• IMCD/Givaudan; Premium Vanilla Ice Cream Champion
• Standard Ice Cream Champion
• Chelsea Sugar Premium Ice Cream Champion
• DKSH/Belcolade; Chocolate Champion
• Best of Citrus
• Sensient Technologies Gelato Champion
• Formula Foods Sorbet Champion
• Export Ice Cream Champion
• Low Calorie/Frozen Yoghurt Champion
• Infruit Dairy-Free Champion
• Open Creative Champion
• Hawkins Watts New to Market Champion
• Novelty Champion
• Pacific Flavours & Ingredients Kids’ Choice
