New Zealand’s top sausage award has tonight gone to Grey Lynn Butchers in Auckland for their Isterband sausage.
The judges were unanimous that the winning sausage had the best taste and texture to beat over 600 other entries and claim the top spot.
The sausage was created by self-taught butchers and aunt and nephew, Lucia and Eddie Rodrigues.
“We’re really thrilled, we can’t believe it. We’ve been striving for gold for years and now not only do we have gold but we have won the Supreme Award as well,” Lucia said.
“We were approached by Julian – the owner of Snö Café in Remuera – to make a traditional Swedish sausage called the Isterband. Eddie put our spin on the initial concept and developed the Swedilicious Istaband. We just can’t believe it.”
The competition had a record-breaking 605 entries from 99 sausage producers across 17 categories, with five days of category judging last month by a squad of butchers, foodies, chefs and industry heavyweights coming under Covid-19 alert level restrictions.
The Isterband was technically well made and stood out from the competition, judge Kathy Paterson said.
“The standard this year was very high and when you get a beautifully made sausage, with a lovely texture and the flavour of the meat coming through, you know you have a winner,” she said.
“This was a really delicious sausage where everything was in harmony.”
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