The Vegan Society of Aotearoa’s sixth annual Sausage Awards are being judged on Monday 24th June, at Khu Khu restaurant
in Ponsonby. This year the Society announces 5 new categories to add to the usual fare of different sausages. As there
has been so many New Zealand made alternative meats, fish, chicken and deli meats over the last couple of years, the
awards now reflect this, including a specialist innovation category.
The new categories areBacon StyleBurger PattiesHot Served ‘Meats’‘Seafood’Innovative
(Producers using innovative ingredients such as jackfruit, banana blossom, tempeh, congak, fungus etc, to create a
unique vegan meat option.)
“We are so excited to bring in these new categories, which recognise the quality and care that goes into producing great
plant-based alternatives for meat products. We urge all manufacturers to try their luck and see if their product has
what it takes to win our judges over. With the rising cost of living, eating plants will always be a good thing,
providing healthier foods with lower emissions, helping to look after our planet” said Media Spokesperson, Claire
Insley.
The winner of the Sausage Roll category last year has enjoyed so much success that his bakery has been hard at work
keeping up! Jason Danielson, owner and baker behind Kai Pai Bakery in Wanaka said “ I used to sell around 200 sausage
rolls, but now I’m making 2 tonnes at a time!”
The judges this year are food and beverage industry experts, Aaron Pucci and Jasbir Kaur, both highly respected in their
fields with a wealth of expertise between them. Favourite vegan funny man Tom Sainsbury, whose great love of vegan
sausages has helped lend a voice of the public to the proceedings. Global chef Volker Marecek brings his high quality
cheffing to the fore and finally Zach Duxfield brings his knowledge of fine dining to the judges floor.
Last year’s Supreme Award winner Plan*t said “We were absolutely elated to win the Supreme Winner award for the second
year running with our amazing Plan*t sausages. We put so much care into the recipe development and the creation of
these delicious plant-based bangers and are stoked that the judges loved them too! Our sausages are packed with goodness
and just the right amount of herbs and spices to deliver an incredible flavour, and we take extra care to craft a casing
that delivers that all important snap when you bite into them, rounding off your eating experience.”
With so many categories to munch their way through, these judges will really be getting their teeth into it. To find out
more about the awards go to https://vegansociety.org.nz/nz-vegan-sausage-awards/