New Zealand’s ÅŒra King salmon has been judged as ‘remarkable’ at the iTQi Superior Taste Awards in Belgium.
The brand has been developed specifically for fine dining by Nelson-based New Zealand King Salmon and was launched only last year.
ÅŒra King Fresh Whole Salmon achieved two stars in the awards and an overall mark of 83.1 percent.
The iTQi Superior Taste Awards are in their ninth year and are judged by more than 120 of the world’s opinion-leading chefs and sommeliers.
Company chief executive Grant Rosewarne says the accolade for ÅŒra King supports the company’s determination to be the world’s best producer of salmon for the demanding global food service trade.
“ÅŒra King represents the pinnacle standard from the NZ King Salmon fish selection programme founded on more than two decades of classical breeding and careful production management,” Mr Rosewarne says.
“We have had wonderfully positive feedback from chefs around the world. This award – judged by their peers – clearly demonstrates we have a world-beating product on our hands,” he says.
The company is awaiting full evaluation reports from the awards organisers complete with comments from the judges.
The International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi) is the leading independent chef and sommelier based organisation. Its aim is to test and promote “superior tasting food and drink from around the world”.
In the Superior Taste Award, products are blind tested solely on their own merit (not compared). The focus is on the intensity of gustatory pleasures. Criteria scored are first impression, appearance, aroma, texture, flavour and retro-olfaction and are commented on by each judge.
Judges are picked from a selection of 12 most prestigious culinary and sommeliers associations in Europe. The Superior Taste Award is licensed to the product for three years and ÅŒra King can use award labels on its products for that time.
The iTQi awards are now in their ninth year and in 2013 attracted 1,239 product entries from approximately 68 countries. No stars are awarded to products that don’t reach the 70 percent threshold for one star.
