Fonterra Kāpiti Kahurangi Blue voted the people’s favourite cheese
New Zealand’s most gold-worthy cheeses went head-to-head last night at the annual New Zealand Champion of Cheese Awards ceremony in Hamilton.
At the ceremony, finalists from the awards announced in March had the opportunity to pick up a Supreme trophy – crowning them the best of the bunch in a range of categories
Kāpiti Kahurangi Blue was a fan favorite – taking home the trophy for the New World People’s Choice Award.
Fonterra Foodstuffs South Island Business Manager James Howden, accepting the New World People’s Choice Award from Head of New World North Island Morgan McCann.
The award, which is chosen by the public, was hotly contested with around 7,000 cheese-loving consumers casting their votes. But it didn’t stop there, Fonterra Brands also scored seven further trophies at the ceremony – their best performance yet.
Managing Director of Fonterra Brands New Zealand (FBNZ), Brett Henshaw says it is an amazing achievement for the Co-op’s Kāpiti cheeses to be recognised with so many awards.
"At Fonterra Brands New Zealand, we are thrilled to see our cheese being voted the consumers favourite. I would like to thank our Head Cheesemaker, Cathy Lang, and the team at our Bridge Street site in Eltham, who work tirelessly to handcraft these exquisite cheeses every day. I would also like to thank our Fonterra farmers whose high-quality milk is instrumental in the creation of our award-winning products."
In addition to Kāpiti’s wins, our foodservice and ingredients business also picked up two trophies.
See our full list of trophy winning cheeses below:
- Export cheese – Kāpiti Smoked Havarti
- New cheese - Kāpiti Artisan Ash Rind
- Washed rind - Kāpiti Rarama Washed Rind cheese
- New world People’s choice - Kāpiti Kahurangi Blue
- Blue cheese - Kāpiti Kahurangi Blue
- Champion fresh flavour - Kāpiti Chilli and Garlic Triple Cheese
- Retail cheddar - Kāpiti Te Tihi Aged Cheddar
- Chef’s choice - Kāpiti Bridge St Blue
- Champion Dutch Style Cheese - NZMP Brine Salt Gouda
- Champion Unripened Fresh Cheese - Anchor EasyMix Cream Cheese
Fonterra Optimisation Manager Caroline Gaisford, Chair of the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association Simon Lamb, Fonterra Bridge Street Lead Cheesemaker Cathy Lang, and Fonterra Bridge Street Site Manager Jim Fryer.