The New Zealand Vegan Sausage & Deli Awards
Celebrating the craft and skill of Vegan sausage & deli meat makers throughout Aotearoa.
Who doesn’t love a breakfast banger? A summer sausage sizzle?
Since 2019 we have brought you our Awards to celebrate the humble vegan sausage! We have enjoyed an amazing array of competitors from home and abroad, showcasing their sausages, hotdogs and sausage rolls.
Calling all sausage and vegan deli ‘meat’ makers!
For the sixth year, our annual vegan Sausage Awards are being held – on 24th June in Auckland.
Now we can choose amongst pastrami, ham, bacon, cutlets, turkey/chicken slices, and whatever other vegan deli meats are available in New Zealand.
As always, we welcome entries from all over the world although entries must be available to buy in Aotearoa. If you think your favourite sausage or deli meat should be entering, let them know about our awards now!
If you make sausages or deli meats of any kind, register now for your chance to win a category award!
Keep on improving and increasing product lines and our awards will reflect those increased options.
- Breakfast Sausage
- Bangers BBQ
- Hotdogs and Sausage Rolls
- Speciality Sausage
- Chorizo Sausage
- Pastrami
- Cold Cuts (chicken, turkey, salami)
- Bacon Style NEW
- Burger Patties NEW
- Hot Served ‘Meats’ NEW
- ‘Seafood’ NEW
- Innovative Category
(Producers using innovative ingredients such as jackfruit, banana blossom, tempeh, congak, fungus etc, to create a unique vegan meat option.)
Awards Dates
Meet the Judges 2024
Helping us discover the best vegan bangers and deli delights in NZ!
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.
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.
Funny guy, snap chat dude and vegan sausage connoisseur!
Seasoned judge of past Vegan Society sausage awards, Tom returns to the scene as judge at this year’s Vegan Sausage and Deli Awards, to help out with the huge volume of entries we have entered!
Tom take vegan food very seriously and he brings to the table his acute palate, sharp wit and eager appetite!
Volker has worked around the globe in Germany, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, Estonia and now New Zealand. He has been Cordis Auckland’s Executive Chef since 2009 and has helped the hotel navigate many changes, as well as planning for an increase in demand with an additional 244 rooms in our Pinnacle Tower and banqueting rooms accommodating up to 1,300 guests. In this role Volker manages a brigade of over 60 chefs and retention and colleague satisfaction is higher than the industry average in this team.
Developing the award winning concept of Eight Restaurant, Cordis Auckland’s High Tea is recognised as one of the best in New Zealand and Volker designs, creates and delivers the menu for this, with a new offering each quarter.
Zach Duxfield is a kiwi born chef, who’s been in kitchens since he was 15. Starting as a kitchen hand in summer jobs in Whitianga he has gone on to become Head Chef at three hat Paris Butter. “At Paris Butter we are always looking to level up our food through new ideas and new produce. I am lucky enough to work closely with Chef of the Year Zennon, under whom I am always learning.”
Zach is fine dining trained, spending most of his career in Hatted restaurants, having been lucky enough to have worked for some of the best chefs in the country. People like Ben Bayly and Glen File have helped Zach shape his career to get to the position he’s in today
The Vegan Sausage Awards in the Media:
Check out the links below to see what others said about the 2023 winners:
