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2005 New Zealand
Ice Cream Awards
 The
nineth NEW ZEALAND ICE CREAM AWARDS were presented at the anual
NZICA Conference in NAPIER on Friday, 17th JUNE 2005.
155 entries were submitted by 16 manufacturers for judging by four judges, Mr
Garry Baker from Sydney, Ms Kay McMath, Ms Christine O’Sullivan and Ms
Joanna Boese from Auckland.
International judging
guidelines were followed with each ice cream being awarded the maximum possible
marks of 100 and from this points were deducted for various imperfections in
each of 4 areas:
 Appearance
defects
Body
and texture
Flavour
defects
Melting
defects
Entries
were in 9 categories which included an Export Category (to include/exclude
packaging) and a category for Kids Choice.
The Kids Choice is
judged by children – this year selected from a Year 6 class
at Panama Road School in South Auckland. The children,
three boys and three girls from Room 13 couldn’t wait to
seek parental permission to participate in the event. Parents,
some in disbelief,
had no hesitation in releasing the children for 2 hours - somewhat
envious of the opportunity to participate in judging the 13 entries
in the category.
Flavours judged this year were Cookies and Cream,
Mint Choc Kisses, Triple Chocolate, Golden Kiwifruit Pavlova, Hokey
Pokey, Choco Mallow, Chocolate Crunch, Strawblimey Sours, Jelly
Tip and Awesome Foursome ‘Family Fun’.
The kids were
very black and white in their decisions and not afraid of using
the scale from “really yuk” to “really yummy”.
Even after evaluating the 13 entries in the category – they
were very decisive in their overall choice. Their most preferred
ice cream was Triple Chocolate made by Kapiti
Fine Foods.
In the Open Creative Category the
award went to Tip Top Ice Cream Company Ltd for
their Manuka Honey and Macadamia ice cream. Entries
in this category were not eligible for the Supreme Award as the
products do not have to be commercially available. This category
has been established to encourage entries from hotels, restaurants,
food institutes and other catering establishments.
There was a
successful introduction last year of a combined category for Gelato,
Sorbet and Low Fat, however this year the Low Fat products were
separated to enable judges to focus on the characteristics of each
class.
The Gelato/Gelati and Sorbet category continued to attract
a record number of entries (32) and the Low Fat category a further
8 entries. The increasing trend of interest in these Categories
versus the slight decline in the higher fat, premium category was
interesting and may reflect changing consumer demands. As for last
year – the quality of the Gelato/Sorbet continued to excite
judges with the wonderful natural, authentic fresh fruit flavours
being captured in these frozen treats.
The Supreme Award is
given to the ice cream with the highest score across all categories.
This year the award went to the winner of the Standard Ice Cream
with Additions with a score of 99 points.
The Supreme Award for 2005 went to Tip Top Ice Cream Company Ltd for their Saucy
As Crazy for Caramel.
The success of the workshop held last year at the Annual Conference of
The New Zealand Ice Cream Manufacturers’ Association was just reason
to repeat the exercise again this year. Conference attendees were able
to sample some of the same products judged by the panel and to give their
opinion on the tasting experience. This made the attendees more appreciative
of the task faced by the judges but also to experience some of the issues
discussed by judges in their reports to the ice cream manufacturers.
Many
attendees were keen to know the success of Deep South 2007 Ltd’s
French Vanilla which took top honours in the Standard
Vanilla Category without inclusions.
Trends evident in the use
of flavours continue with the use of natural flavours and fruit purees,
ripples and syrups. Manufacturers appreciate that consumers now know and
expect true to natural flavours and are continuing to lift the bar to achieve
both natural colours and flavours in their products. Gold kiwifruit and
quince as ice cream flavours made their debut among the entries in the
Premium Category this year.
Ice creams that provide a “dessert in
a dish” also proved popular in both the Open Creative and Premium
Categories. Apple Pie, Spicy Apple Crumble, Strawberry Cheesecake and Cookies
and Cream were great examples of combinations of flavours that are traditionally
served with ice cream accompaniments.
The New Zealand Ice Cream Awards
continue to provide our industry with ever challenging yardsticks to be
measured by. The innovation, creativity and manufacturing excellence are
a credit to those who work in the industry and whose achievements stand
among the best in the world.
 A
full list of the 2005 Awards is here.
Photos
of the 2005 Awards presentations and winners here.
 Back to
the Awards page |
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