Golden touch for Alliance’s Pure South beef, lamb and venison

Alliance Group has been awarded five gold medals for its beef, lamb and venison at the Outstanding NZ Food Producers Awards.

] by Kent Caddick

More than 25 experienced food judges assessed entries over two days at the awards held at Auckland’s Homeland restaurant recently.

The awards recognise those who harvest, grow and produce New Zealand’s food and drink, and entries are judged on a range of criteria including aroma, visual appearance, flavour, consistency, quality, sustainability, brand story and packaging.

Alliance, New Zealand’s only 100 per cent farmer owned red meat co-operative, won gold for its Pure South Lamb, Pure South Handpicked Lamb, Pure South Beef, Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef and Pure South Venison.

Shane Kingston, General Manager Sales for Alliance Group, said the array of awards across its portfolio highlights the co-operative’s commitment to quality and the passion and dedication of farmers.

“Our Pure South beef and lamb are our foundation brands and they are enjoyed in more than 65 countries around the world.”

Kingston said the recognition of the special qualities of our new Handpicked Lamb was particularly pleasing.

“Over the past five years, we have also steadily expanded our range to build a differentiated premium portfolio to provide our farmers with opportunities to partner with us on new products to meet demand from consumers who are also willing to pay a premium for red meat products and attributes guaranteed by a trusted brand.”

Judges praised the Pure South Lamb for its delicate, mild and mellow flavour and pleasant fine grained texture, and the Pure South Handpicked Lamb for its texture, mature depth of flavour and “tarty layer of fat”.

The Pure South Venison won accolades for its tenderness, succulence and delicious flavours.

Pure South Beef was described as mild, juicy and tender with good clean tasting fat. The Pure South Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef was singled out for its marbling and “good beefy flavour that is reminiscent of Grandma’s classic beef and Yorkshire pudding,” The Handpicked 55 Day Aged Beef has won multiple gold medals at the World Steak Challenge.

Gold: Alliance’s pure South Handpicked lamb was praised for its texture, mature depth of flavour and “tarty layer of fat” by the judges who awarded it a gold medal at the Outstanding NZ Food producers Awards.