The New Zealand Vegan Cheese Awards
Celebrating the craft and skill of Vegan cheese makers throughout Aotearoa.
Welcome to New Zealand’s Vegan Cheese Awards 2024
Our awards for excellence in vegan food production have been embraced by NZ food producers and we are delighted to present our first awards for cheese.
We Kiwis love cheese and with the many vegan cheese options being created we too can enjoy a fancy cheese board or a cheesy pizza or pie. There are now so many different vegan cheeses available in New Zealand that we can taste test them all and find out which are the best!
You can tell your friends that this cheese is sure to please.
Our awards celebrate the best vegan cheeses that New Zealand has to offer. Judging will place on 29th July at Khu Khu Eatery, Auckland
This years cheese categories:
- Commercial Cheddar
- Commercial Flavoured Cheddar
- Artisan (cheddar, gouda, hard cheese etc)
- Mozzarella
- Feta
- Cream Cheese (plain)
- Cream Cheese (flavoured)
- Soft Cheese (ricotta, chevre, cottage cheese etc)
- Flavoured Cheese Board (herb, cumin, etc)
- Brie, Camembert and Blue style
- Cheese Spread
- Innovation Category
- Commercial Cheddar
Meet the 2024 Awards Judges
Helping us to discover the best of NZ vegan cheese in 2024!
Aaron Pucci has clocked up 25 years in the food and beverage manufacturing industry.
His trusted palate has earned him numerous seats on judging panels for awards in New Zealand and Australia over 15 years.
Aaron is always on the lookout for new brands and products ~ especially those that are breaking new ground.
Aaron’s ‘food for thought’ is a desire for more manufacturers to take up the challenge of sustainable food operations and reducing their carbon footprint.
Multi-award-winning executive chef & trainer, TV personality, creative head and chef of the new series “Ignite the Chef in You” and President of the NZ Chef Association Auckland, Chef Jazz is an external verifier for City and Guilds, UK.
She has been judging in New Zealand’s Regional and National culinary salon competitions for the past nine years and is deputy chief judge for the Hospitality Championships.
She has worked in top hotels and restaurants in five countries – USA, UK, India, New Zealand and Spain.
Tom is a comedian, actor and writer best known for his skits on social media. But he is also a huge animal lover, a vegan for many years, and consumes a lot of food. He’s very excited to be giving his opinion.
Franco is a turophile with 24 years experience in the New Zealand specialty cheese industry.
His work spans from large corporates to small artisan cheese boutiques, managing cheese making, procurement, supply chain, sales, marketing, export and executive management. Franco is a professional international cheese judge and recently he was appointed New Zealand Ambassador for the International Cheese and Dairy Award UK. His Company, The Grand Gourmand Limited, is the only New Zealand accredited trainer provider for the Academy of Cheese (UK). Franco is also the Gardening Editor for Mindfood magazine and he is a prolific writer and contributor.
Photos from Vegan Cheese Awards 2024
