Tongan Student Wins Final William Gearish Award
Vetekina Pau'u is the first Tongan to win the William Gearish Memorial prize and sadly she will also be the last recipient.
The sausage took out over 400 other entries to become the supreme award winner.
Held at Billfish Cafe in Auckland, a panel of culinary trained chefs, butchers and food writers judged the sausages on visual appeal, aroma, flavour, texture, shrinkage and composition.
Countdown's Peter Kendrick says he is elated with the win and is looking forward to creating more product for consumers to enjoy over the summer months.
"We are very proud. This is the greatest achievement, we are ecstatic. I think winning has come down to keeping up the high quality that Countdown customers expect. We are certainly very ready to get engaged with what winning this competition has to offer," he says.
Head judge, Kerry Tyack, says the quality of the sausages improves every year.
"This is a great way to start sausage season. It's great to see manufacturers putting more creative flair behind their product and there are certainly sausages in categories that improve year after year," he says.
This year marks the 22nd year of the iconic competition and coincides with National Sausage Day to be held on October 22nd.
The competition acknowledges the skill of New Zealand butchers and small goods manufacturers, while pointing New Zealander's in the right direction for the best sausages this summer.
The competition is supported by Devro New Zealand, Kerry Ingredients and Alto Packaging.
