Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Otago farm’s food award

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The Crutchley family from Maniototo high country have claimed a top award in this year’s Food Producer Awards with their Provenance lamb. The family’s Provenance brand won the Ara Wines Paddock Champion Award for a lamb product judges praised for its juiciness, moistness and good flavours. 
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David and Glenis Crutchley’s 6121ha dryland farming operation near Naseby transitioned from conventional farming systems to biological farming eight years ago. They dropped conventional fertilisers for fish-based nutrients and a focus on building up soil micro-bacterial activity.
“This award is the culmination of 10 years of hard work for the family and is very welcome,” Glenis said.
Awards in the 2013 and 2014 Glammies Golden Lamb Awards run by Beef + Lamb were precursors to this latest award.
Provenance offers fresh and frozen cuts from 17kg carcasses, delivered direct to consumers and chefs. 
Beef + Lamb ambassador chef Michael Coughlin, past owner of Bell Pepper Blues and Pier 24 restaurants in Dunedin, welcomed the recognition the family gets from the award.
Coughlin said from a chef’s perspective the Provenance product delivers a taste experience far exceeding conventional lamb cuts and is rapidly gaining a reputation among chefs for its cooking ability and consumer acceptance.
“From a chef’s view it is a very user-friendly product but it is also a product that goes beyond the usual claims around sustainability. 
“There is a whole new level of ethical and sustainable practices behind how the Crutchleys rear their animals and it is something David and the family are very passionate about.”
The supreme award went to the Wooden Spoon Boutique Freezery, for a blackcurrant ice-cream. 
The product had its origins in a group of Otago Girls High School students asking the company to create a new flavour for their young enterprise scheme. The ice cream was praised for its texture and fruity flavour.
Whitestone Cheeses from Oamaru was awarded the people’s choice favourite producer award.
Head judge Lauraine Jacobs said it was impressive to see the innovative use of premium ingredients largely grown and harvested in NZ. 
After three years of awards there are now more than a quarter of a million Food Producer Awards stickers on food and drink products around NZ.
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