Sonntag is the Supreme Winner of the third annual Vegan Society Vegan Cheese Awards, with its delicious Cumin Gouda Style. The judges said it was firm and dense with a wonderfully balanced flavour, perfectly complemented by the cumin with brilliant texture.
Plant-based cheeses continue to increase, and with more people improving their cheese-making skills, the awards are set to raise the bar for vegan cheese. This is excellent news for the Kiwi consumer, especially with the price of dairy products rising. It means no one misses out on cheesy goodness. Plant-based cheeses have many advantages, including being great for health, as they contain no cholesterol and being good for the environment, as they use fewer resources to produce.
Introducing a new judge for the Awards, Executive Chef Sid Chopra, whose proudest achievement is his creation of a whole separate Vegan Menu at Prego Restaurant, Sid joins Food and Beverage Industry judge Aaron Pucci, who wants more manufacturers to take up the challenge of sustainable food operations and reducing their carbon footprint. President of New Zealand Chef Association Auckland, Jasbir “Jazz” Kaur, the creative head and chef of the new series “Ignite the Chef in You” and the erstwhile favourite funny man, vegan comedian Tom Sainsbury, whose palate has grown quite accustomed to reaching the full depths of these delicious plant-based cheeses complete the judging panel.
As supermarkets continue to report increased sales of plant-based products, the demand for vegan cheese will only increase. The cost of dairy continues to increase, making the price parity of vegan alternatives a reality in 2023. For the winning cheesemakers, a Vegan Society Award winner lets the public know which vegan cheese is the best.
The Commercial Cheddar category winner is Epic’s Smoked Cheddar, with Angel Food’s Smoked Cheddar being the runner-up. For the Flavoured Cheese category, Savour took first place with its Chipotle, and its Ash and Mint flavours were the runners-up.
Nu Dairy took first place for Mozzarella, and Zenzo returned with second place. The Surface Ripened category was won out by Savour’s Cashbert, with Let The Eat Vegan coming in second with its Creamy Camembert.
Zenzo won the Feta category, with One Love Planet’s The Greek runner-up.
Cream Cheese was won by Grater Godds’ Garlic and Herb, with Angel Food and Nu Dairy’s Cream Cheeses coming in second. The Soft Cheese category was won by Savour’s Chipotle, with High Culture’s Buche Provençal Garlic and Fine Herb coming second.
Sonntag’s Cumin Style Gouda won the Gouda category, with One Love Planet’s Smoked Gaudi coming second.
Finally, One Love Planet’s Drunken Irish Cheddar won the artisan Cheddar category with no runner-up.
