It was toasts all round as the winners of the annual Eat.Taste.Central (E.T.C.) people’s and judges awards were announced at the inaugural MiNDFOOD long lunch event at The Canyon at Tarras Vineyards on Saturday (30 October).

The People’s Choice voting was done by venue where voters scored on taste, value, presentation and service. Vote scores were then aggregated to come up with an overall average score and a winner determined for each category. 

The E.T.C. People’s Choice category winners were:

Café:                                    Tarras Country Café, Tarras

Cellar Door:                         Te Kano Estate, Bannockburn

Country Hotel or Pub:     Waipiata Country Hotel, Waipiata

On the Move:                    Burger AFloat, Cromwell

Restaurant:                         Centennial Court, Alexandra

The 2021 Judges Awards were re-designed to celebrate the people behind creating and serving the dishes, hosting customers, or demonstrating how their businesses was innovative and sustainable now and into the future.

The entries for each category highlighted some exceptional examples of people leading the way for the Central Otago hospitality sector. Judges were unanimous in acknowledging that Central Otago was in good hands given the calibre of entries received.

The ETC Judges award winners by category were:

Young Talent:                   Sam Farr,

Alexandra District Club

Front of House:               Mark Button,

Waipiata Country Hotel

Chef or Cook:                   Gwen Harvie,

Carrick Winery & Restaurant

Innovation and Sustainability:   Richard and Jolanda Foale,

Burger AFloat

Tourism Central Otago campaign lead Antz Longman was thrilled with the whole competition and conclusion.

"It’s been wonderful to join with the MiNDFOOD team here at the Canyon for this amazing long lunch experience. It has truly celebrated our food and wine in a distinctive and fabulous Central Otago setting.

“It’s a fitting location and event in which to announce our winners and we know that when we come back together for E.T.C in 2022, the people we are celebrating today will have continued to deliver exceptional experiences, as they have this year, despite the challenges of changing alert levels and business practices.

“The success of E.T.C. really comes down to the commitment and enthusiasm of those who have entered into the spirit of what we are trying to achieve – which is encouraging celebration of local people, produce, wines and beverages – wherever you are in Central Otago."

Eat Taste Central (ETC) 2021 Judges’ Awards winners at the MiNDFOOD Long Lunch event at The Canyon, Tarras, Central Otago, NZ, from left, Jolanda Foale from Burger

AFloat for Innovation & Sustainability, Sam Farr from Alexandra District Club for Young Talent, Mark Button from Waipiata Country Hotel for Front of House and Gwen Harvie, Carrick Winery & Restaurant, for Chef or Cook. PHOTO: Clare Toia-Bailey

Having event partners continue to support E.T.C. during these challenging times was also something that Tourism Central Otago was proud of, Antz said.

“Partners like MiNDFOOD, Air New Zealand, Central Otago Winegrowers, The Central App, venues and visitors are key to us being able to build Eat.Taste.Central year on year and keep its place on the annual events calendar. Without this support – be it in creating a menu item (or two), entering the judges awards, creating and sharing an experience or event or supporting the campaign activity – we simply could not deliver a programme of this depth.”  

It was hoped that Eat.Taste.Central would return in 2022 without the last-minute curve balls of the past two years, and that the event could once again welcome visitors from all across New Zealand and further afield.