Mr Tiefenbach, a butcher at Three Parks New World, and his small team of three butchers had been working hard on their sausage submissions.
The team’s roma tomato and caramelised onion beef sausage won silver in the gourmet beef category.
For the last two months, they had been changing, tasting and perfecting their recipes and were more than pleased with the outcome.
"It’s always nice to get recognition for all of our efforts. It keeps you pushing for next year to do better," he said.
"This isn’t a regular sausage. We wanted to create something special for the competition. With so many other entries every year you have to create something special to stand out."
A veteran of the competition, entering with a range of businesses since 2010, Mr Tiefenbach understood it came down to the personal preference of the judges.
"If they personally don’t like certain flavours like garlic or tomato, that’s just not what they are going to vote for, that’s just the way the competition is.
"Like all of our sausages sold here at Wānaka New World, the ones we submitted for judging are of highest quality," he said.
The competition, returning for its 28th year, drew over 800 entries in 13 categories from all corners of the country, a record.
The 52 official judges made up of chefs, butchers and food writers voted on their favourite sausages over the course of a week.
Sausages were judged based on their technical composition, aroma, appearance, texture and, most importantly, taste.
Other Otago competitors who came away victorious included Fergbutcher in Arrowtown, The Fridge Butchery in Cromwell and Links Quality Meats in Dunedin.
Unable to attend the awards ceremony in Auckland, the Wānaka New World team were informed they had won a prize but did not find out until Wednesday morning what they had won.
The supermarket’s owner and operator Paul Joyce said he could not be prouder of the team.
"The butchery staff work very closely together as a team, so it was great to see their smiling faces, all giving each other high fives when we found out they had placed.
"It’s about celebrating every win we get, big or small," he said.
