Glamming up for the competition

The competition is heating up for the 2013 Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Golden Lamb Awards, aka the Glammies.

More than 100 entries from across the country will be competing next year for the Grand Champion title.

The competition, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Genetics, which aims to find New Zealand’s most tender and tasty lamb is entering its seventh year and sees farmers from across the country vying for the Grand Champion title.

B+LNZ Ltd chief executive, Scott Champion, says the competition is an excellent opportunity to profile the quality product New Zealand farmers produce.

“The Glammies gives farmers a chance to showcase breed lines and demonstrate how their animal management talent and hard work in the field culminates in great tasting lamb.”

Winning the top prize is not easy; entries will first be scientifically tested at Carne Technologies to find the top 20.

From here it will be down to the tastebuds of a panel of judges at the Upper Clutha A & P Show in Wanaka on 8 March 2013, where the winner will be determined. Butchers also have an opportunity to profile their product with the Glammies Retailer of the Year Award.

The competition is supported by processing plants across the country. These include: AFFCO, Alliance Group Ltd, Ashburton Meat Processors Ltd, Auckland Meat Processors/Wilson Hellaby, Blue Sky Meats, Cabernet Foods/Kintyre Meats, Harris Meats, Land Meat NZ, Lean Meats, Silver Fern Farms, Taylor Preston/Ken Wilson Meats.

A little bit of export meat, in Wellington

Customers of an award-winning New Zealand family line of butchers in Wellington are being treated to export quality product this year.

The run into Christmas for Wellington’s Preston’s Master Butchers is starting this week with the launch of free-range spring lamb. The new season’s lamb is sourced through sister company, meat processor and exporter Taylor Preston, which in turn sources from selected farmers in the lower North Island and top of the South Island.

“It’s not a matter of the best stuff going for export,” says the butcher’s general manager Andrew Preston, “we make sure that it comes straight here.”

Spring lamb has a unique flavour profile which is more delicate than older lambs – predominantly due to being milk-fed and young – and it’s also very tender. “People enjoy the taste,” says Preston, ” and we reckon everybody should have a chance to sample it – so we’re doing a special introduction across our stores, at really affordable prices.”

Preston’s is also launching two new beef ranges – under the Ted’s Choice premium label; Natural Farm Hereford and Natural Farm Angus – with a Preston family influence right through the chain. The cattle are sourced predominantly from lower North Island farms with Andrew Preston’s cousin, Campbell Preston, individually selecting the carcases at the Taylor Preston processing plant for meat colour, muscle size and conformation, marbling content and pH tests are also used as an indicator for tenderness.

“We expect the range will go well in our retail stores and hospitality,” says Andrew Preston. “People are looking for a little bit extra and the Natural Farm product certainly gives that, with very strict quality standards and full traceability. What’s more the butcher in-store can portion it any way you want.”

In addition, Preston’s Master Butchers learned last week that had been awarded a gold medal in the Devro New Zealand Sausage Competition for its Turingia Bratwurst (pictured right).

“Our customers have been telling us for a while that this is a fantastic sausage,” says Preston. “A win in a national competition is reinforcement that we’ve got it right. Our Anytime Turingia Bratwurst is a traditional pre-cooked German bratwurst, flavoured with marjoram and parsley and a touch of pepper and garlic. “It’s great for a variety of uses, from the family BBQ, eating as a snack, through to portioning into a risotto.”

Preston is looking forward to the shops being “a bit crazy for a while, as Preston’s has previously won gold, silver and bronze medals for bacon and other sausages. We will have a bunch of new customers coming to our stores just to try it and, I can tell you now, they won’t be disappointed.”

 

PM helps to pick best lamb

The Glammies 2012 judging panel (right to left) are: Prime Minister John Key, Sarah Walker, Ben Batterbury and chief judge Graham Hawkes.

Prime Minister Right Hon Jon Key was on hand at the Upper Clutha A&P Show in Wanaka to select the nation’s best lamb in March.

The Prime Minister joined the judging panel for the 2012 Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) Golden Lamb Awards (Glammies) at the A&P show in March. Others on the panel were 2011 Supercross World Cup Champion, Sarah Walker, 2012 B+LNZ ambassador chef Ben Batterbury and chief judge and Invercargill chef Graham Hawkes.

Don Morrison of Gore with his Growbulk lamb was named as 2012 Grand Champion, taking home a cheque for $2,000, the Glammies Grand Champion trophy plus a bottle of Mt Difficulty pinot noir wine. Each finalist won a plaque showing their placing.

The Glammies, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Genetics, attracted a record 150 entries which all underwent testing at Carne Technologies. Factors such as tenderness, colour and succulence were tested to determine the top twenty finalists tasted in Wanaka.

The competition is supported by processing plants across the country, including: Alliance, Ashburton Meat Processors, Auckland Meat Processors, Blue Sky Meats (NZ) Ltd, Land Meat NZ Ltd, Silver Fern Farms and Taylor Preston.

Published in Food NZ magazine (April/May 2012).