Orange juice takes national gold award

OUTSTANDING: Cath and Matt Carter are rapt that their Hill Road Orchard fresh orange juice has won a gold medal at the 2018 Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards. A supreme champion and other major award winners will be announced later this month. Picture by Paul Rickard

A small Gisborne business has won a gold award at the 2018 Outstanding New Zealand Food Producer Awards.

Hill Road Orchard’s fresh orange juice is one of 25 New Zealand food producers named as gold medal winners in the awards.

Business owners Matt and Cath Carter are delighted.

“We are very proud to be representing Gisborne at this level, and very happy that our fresh orange juice has been recognised at such a high level.”

They intend to go to the awards evening in Auckland on April 26, where one supreme champion, four category champions and five special award winners will be named from the gold medal winners.

More than 180 of the country’s food products were entered.

They were judged for aroma, taste, quality, innovation, pack design, sustainability and brand story by a panel of specialty food retailers, chefs and food and drink experts last month.

Products were judged across four categories; earth, paddock, water and dairy. Hill Road Orchard’s fresh orange juice was the only gold medal winner in the earth (drink) category.

Head Judge Lauraine Jacobs said judging was not easy, given the talent of food producers and the quantity of fine fare.

Co-organiser Kathie Bartley said they were thrilled by the 23 percent increase in entries from last year.