It was a sunny day for Sonntag, who were named Supreme Winner of the third annual Vegan Society Vegan Cheese Awards, with their delicious “Cumin Gouda Style”.
The judges said it was “firm and dense with wonderful balanced flavour, perfectly complemented by the cumin. Brilliant texture.”
Plant-based cheeses continue to increase in number and with more people improving their cheese-making skills, the awards are set to raise the bar for vegan cheese. This is great news for Kiwi consumers, especially with the price of dairy products rising, it means no one misses out on cheesy goodness.
This year a new judge joined the Awards, Executive Chef Sid Chopra, whose proudest achievement is his creation of a whole separate vegan menu at Prego Restaurant. Sid joins Food and Beverage Industry judge Aaron Pucci, who wants more manufacturers to take up the challenge of sustainable food operations and reducing their carbon footprint. President of NZ Chef Association Auckland, Jasbir “Jazz” Kaur, and our favourite funny man, vegan comedian Tom Sainsbury, whose palate has grown quite accustomed to reaching the full depths of these delicious plant-based cheeses complete the judging panel.
“As supermarkets continue to report increased sales of plant-based products, the demand for vegan cheese will only increase,” says a spokesperson for the Vegan Society. The cost of dairy continues to increase, making price parity of vegan alternatives a reality in 2023.
For the winning cheesemakers, a Vegan Society Award winner lets the public know which vegan cheese really is the best.
The winners are:
Commercial Cheddar
Winner; Epic ‘Smoked Cheddar’
Runner Up; Angel Food ‘Smoked Cheddar’
Flavoured Cheese
Winner Savour ‘Chipotle’
Joint Runners Up
Savour ‘Ash’
Savour ‘Mint’
Mozzarella
Winner; Nu Dairy
Runner Up: Zenzo
Surface Ripened
Winner Savour ‘Cashbert’
Runner Up; Let Them Eat Vegan; ‘Creamy Camembert’
Feta
Winner; Zenzo
Runner Up; One Love Planet ‘The Greek’
Cream Cheese
Winner; Grater Goods ‘Garlic and Herb’.
Joint Runners Up:
Angel Food ‘Cream Cheese’
Nu Dairy ‘Cream Cheese’
Soft Cheese
Winner; Savour ‘Chipotle’
Runner Up; High Culture ‘Buche Provençal Garlic and Fine Herb’
Gouda
Winner; Sonntag ‘Cumin Gouda Style’
Runner Up; One Love Planet ‘Smoked Gaudi’
Artisan Cheddar
Winner; One Love Planet “Drunken Irish Cheddar”
No Runner Up
For more information visit https://vegansociety.org.nz/nz-vegan-cheese-awards/
