The title of New Zealand’s most tender, tasty lamb was decided at the finals of the Beef + Lamb New Zealand Golden Lamb Awards held in Wanaka last month.
Beating over 180 entrants, Mangapoike Ltd, represented by Pat Sheriff, from Gisborne has been announced as the 2013 Glammies Grand Champion.
Their composite lamb, processed at Silver Ferns Farm Takapau, took out the title at the final taste test, after being tasted next to 20 other finalists.
For their win, Mangapoike Ltd took home a cheque for $2000, the trophy and a magnum of Mt Difficulty 2009 Pinot Noir.
The final was judged by Iron Maidens, Sarah Walker and Sophie Pascoe, food writer Lauraine Jacobs, Beef + Lamb ambassador chef Darren Wright and head judge and chef, Graham Hawkes.
Mr Hawkes was impressed by the high level of quality this year, saying it was a step up from last year’s competition.
“After judging last year’s finals I knew I could expect top quality product, however this year’s entries raised the bar to a whole new level making it even harder to pick the winning lamb,” he says.
The other big winner on the day was Progressive Enterprises (Countdown) who took home the title of Grand Champion Retailer with their Southdown lamb.
The 2013 Glammies were sponsored by Zoetis and further supported by processing plants across the country. These include: AFFCO, Alliance Group Ltd, Ashburton Meat Processors Ltd, Auckland Meat Processors/ Wilson Hellaby, Blue Sky Meats, Cabernet Foods/Kintyre Meats, Harris Meats, Land Meat NZ, Lean Meats, Silver Fern Farms, and Taylor Preston/Ken Wilson Meats.
