A flurry of sweet prizes has been scooped by Nelson ice-cream makers at the most premium New Zealand awards for the frozen dessert.
Gelato Roma, whose bellisimo flavours are churned at a small factory in the central city and sold regionwide, scooped four golds, for its lemon and raspberry sorbets and its chocolate and hazelnut gelatos, along with a triple scoop of silvers and one bronze.
Kym Jack, who has co-owned the company with her former-All Black husband Chris for more than two years, says she and Gelato Roma were “thrilled” to lick their wounds following no gold last year.
“This year we went in knowing what we wanted to focus on, showcasing the things that we’re really proud of,” she says.
“The judges’ comments were, the raspberry sorbet had a stunning flavour, the lemon sorbet had good texture and firmness with well-balanced flavours, the chocolate was beautiful flavour and creaminess, and the hazelnut was well balanced flavours with great texture.
“We’d like to thank our really loyal clients and customers, and our retailers that sell our products, and the people that buy our product, because to us, we couldn’t do it if people didn’t like what we do.”
Kym says the gold award- winning flavours had been whipped up since Gelato Roma’s inception in 2017 by its Italian founder Yuri Aristarco.
“We’re all passionate about the products that we put in, we’ve all got our favourite flavours that we’re really passionate about, and we have quality control to check they’re just as good every time,” she says.
“The main thing is the raspberries are from a Tasman-based berry farm [near Tapawera], and the milk for the dairy-based gelatos is from Oaklands Milk.”
Co-owner Chris Jack says their gold-winning scoops had also been recently refined.
“We had some feedback from our customers, and as a company we really wanted to make our products as natural as possible. When you read the ingredients list now, you’ll understand what’s in it,” he says.
“With the lemon sorbet, normally you think of something that’s quite icy, but [our lemon sorbet] has quite a creamy texture and it’s nice to eat, so that’s what we were trying to achieve and we got there.”
Appleby Farms also scooped its second straight gold for its strawberries and cream, and an additional two golds for its South American Coffee and Maple and Canterbury Walnut. Two silvers and a bronze also added to the Stoke-based company’s success.
Chief executive Peter Findlay says their ingredient quality was adulated by the judges.
“Overall, the comments were certainly around a good, creamy, premium product… most of the ingredients we source locally from the Nelson region or around New Zealand, and we don’t cut any corners,” he says.
“We find [South American coffee] is a stronger coffee that punches through the creaminess of the ice cream… it’s a product that can be mixed well in the food service channel with affogatos and things, and maple walnut is another classic flavour.
“We’re really thrilled with the result, it’s great feedback that we’re getting from consumers so it’s nice to have that backed up by the judging panel.”
Montgomery Square’s Penguino Ice Cream Café also had a taste of the awards with a silver for its lemon and poppy seeds cheesecake flavour and a bronze for its black sesame.
