Teacher Laura Nalder says even crossing the Auckland Harbour Bridge to the judging at Massey University was a novelty for some of the children, and combined with the ice cream judging, it made for a “very, very exciting” trip. The children were chosen for good behaviour.
Asked to judge on a scale from “really yummy” to “really yukky” the children had 18 tubs to test, with such combined flavours as banana gelato with malt and chocolate or peanut butter, chocolate and caramel.
The judging was one of 11 categories in the 2013 NZ Ice Cream Awards which attracted 307 ice cream, gelato, sorbet and low fat entries, up from 285 entries last year. A new award this year, Best of Cookies & Cream, is sponsored by Fonterra.
Jenny de Lisle, executive secretary of the NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers Association, says silver and gold awards are chosen for each category, and there will be two supreme winners, one for manufacturers over 500,000L a year and another for boutique producers. The awards can make a good marketing tool, with some gold and silvers now being used on packaging.
So just what was the Kid’s Choice? That’s still a secret. Winners of all categories will be announced at the awards dinner on May 30 in Wellington.
