The 2015 NZ Ice Cream Awards will be judged again in Auckland in May. The closing date for entry forms is 24 April and product samples must be delivered to The FoodBowl for judging by 30 April. The specific objective of the Awards is the raising of standards and promoting the quality of New Zealand Ice Cream. The results will be announced at the Annual Conference in Auckland on Thursday, 28 May.
A new category this year will showcase the “Best of Berries”. The “New to Market” Award will call for entries from new products launched in the previous 12 months. There were 83 entries eligible for this award last year, which shows the depth of innovation in the ice cream industry. In recognition of the growth in small boutique ice cream and gelato manufacturers, there will be a Supreme Award for Large Manufacturers and a Supreme Award for Boutique Manufacturers. Similar to the New Zealand Cheese Awards, the criteria will be determined by the manufacturer’s annual production with a declaration on the entry form. A Boutique manufacturer must produce less than 500,000 litres per annum.
Any manufacturer (large or boutique) or individual can enter the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards and will be eligible for the Silver and Gold Awards, however to win a Best in Category or Supreme Award they must be a Member of The New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers’ Association (Inc.) (NZICMA) at the time judging commences. All Gold Award winning ice cream entries from NZICMA Members are then eligible for the Supreme Awards based on their score.
There are separate categories for Low Fat, Gelato and Sorbet and these three categories cater for those products that do not meet the Standard or Premium Ice Cream formulation guidelines.
The Vanilla Ice Cream judging is divided into Standard and Premium Categories. The Standard Vanilla Ice Cream category will include products that contain between 10%–10.9% milk fat content, and the Premium Vanilla Ice Cream category will contain not less than 11% milk fat and may contain vanilla additions.
The ‘Open Creative’ category once again has two sections, Ice Cream and Gelato/Sorbet, and is open to any individual, restaurant, hotel or catering establishment that produces and serves these products on the premises. Entries in this category should not be available for sale in any retail outlet. Entries are also expected from the Research and Development departments of the manufacturers and suppliers. The judges pick an overall winner across the two sections of this category and last year’s winner was a White Chocolate and Wasabi Ice Cream made by New Zealand Best & Pure T/A KK New Zealand.
Judging will take place at The FoodBowl, Auckland in early May and the ’Kids’ Choice’ category will again be judged by local school children.
Entry Forms and Rules are available on the NZICMA website and from:
The Executive Secretary
New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers’ Assn (Inc)
PO Box 9364, Wellington 6141
Telephone (04) 385 1410
Fax No. (04) 384 3980
Email info@nzicecream.org.nz
www.nzicecream.org.nz
