Success for Otago products

Otago-produced meat, oats and cheese have been named as champions in the 2019 Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards at an event in Auckland last night.

The Supreme Champion of the night, a Blackcurrant Crunch icecream by Wooden Spoon Boutique Freezery, also has an Otago connection.

Provenance Lamb by Provenance Meat (Otago and Southland) has been named the paddock champion, Harraways' HARR-OS Oat Bites, Indian Spice is the outstanding new product champion and Whitestone Cheese won the Spirit of New Zealand Award.

They were selected from 40 gold medal winners last month during judging in Auckland.

Following the judges' assessment of taste and flavour, producers were assessed for their sustainability, brand story and packaging

Otago also scooped the People's Choice sections with Whitestone Cheese winning the People's Choice Favourite Producer Award and Otago Farmers Market, the People's Choice Favourite Farmers' Market.

Wellington's Wooden Spoon Boutique Freezery founders Sharon Galeon and Midori Willoughby said the creation of Blackcurrant Crunch was the result of a happy confluence of events: a group of Otago Girls' High School pupils asked the Wooden Spoon Boutique Freezery if they could help create a new flavour for their Young Enterprise Scheme called Spoon Me, and then coincidentally the team from ViBERi Organic Blackcurrants got in touch. This led to the creation of the purple ice cream which the judges praised for its crunch and fruity flavour.