The winner of this year’s Artisan category at the New Zealand Food Awards is an outstanding smoked mussel from far-north business The Kutai Guy.

In the words of the judges, the mussels “are a true sea-to-serve story that embodies everything we look for in an artisan product. From collection to hand-shucking and smoking in small batches over open fire, care is taken at every step to deliver mussels with just the right smokiness, depth of flavour and tenderness.”

This whole venture started from Zarn Reichardt’s – the aforementioned ‘kutai guy’ – love of mussels. Zarn first sold smoked mussels alongside burgers from his food trailer, which he later sold to fund putting his all into The Kutai Guy business. “I had bought and eaten mussels and thought, ‘I can make something better than this. How hard is it?’ Turns out it is pretty hard! You get so far in, you can’t stop, thinking you might as well go the next step up and up. Then you might as well take it the whole way!”

The Kutai Guy’s range features three smoked mussel flavours – sweet chilli, garlic butter and natural – and it was the natural flavour that stole the spotlight and secured the winning title. The natural smoked mussels contain only mussels, olive oil and sea salt, with no seed oil or added preservatives in sight – and this really appealed to the judges. “We loved the natural flavour as it celebrates the essence of the kūtai (mussel) and adds value to the primary product without over-processing or adding excessive ingredients.”

Winning this award reaffirms to Zarn that all the hard work that has gone into the business was worth it. And even while celebrating his achievement, he’s driven to achieve more.“We’ve probably changed our techniques 30 times, trying to get the world’s best smoked mussel. That’s the end game for us: creating the world’s best smoked mussel.”— Mia Bennett

Our finalists in the Artisan category of the New Zealand Food Awards show excellence in adding value to quality ingredients. Many of this year’s entries were noticeably leaning towards health and wellbeing, and looking to a climate-positive production system. While innovative, they are often grounded in tradition and most important, full of fflavour. For home cooks, they are perfect for entertaining, making impressive flavour-packed and interesting snacks with ease.

THE KUTAI GUY / NATURAL SMOKED MUSSELS

Coming straight from the Far North to your plate, these are ready-to-eat smoked mussels with authentic New Zealand flavour from traditional techniques. All mussels are hand-shelled and smoked in small batches over an open fire, resulting in a rich, smoky depth that celebrates the natural flavour of green-lipped mussels.
$14.99 for 150g.
thekutaiguy.co.nz

BLUE PETAL / OXYMEL: HONEY & APPLE CIDER VINEGAR WITH KAWAKAWA + GINGER

This vibrant oxymel blends warming ginger with the bold, peppery notes of kawakawa for its support of digestion and overall vitality. Balanced with raw honey and organic apple cider vinegar, this pantry staple offers a gently stimulating tonic that aids circulation, immune health and digestive ease.
$34.50 for 225ml glass bottle
bluepetalnz.com

CHIA SISTERS / SPARKLING BIOACTIVE MIND

Sparkling Bioactive Mind is a lightly carbonated drink that blends New Zealand boysenberries and cherries with an Ayurvedic adaptogen that aids mental processes, and vitamin C. Together these ingredients provide a functional benefit that support mental wellbeing, with flavour that comes directly from real fruit, not flavours or sweeteners.
$4.90 for 250ml can.
chiasisters.co.nz

DRIPPING BOWL /CHERMOULA

A northern African sauce with a beautifully balanced flavour profile, this condiment contains organic olive oil, apple cider vinegar and warm spices with notes of New Zealand honey bringing it all together. Dripping Bowl’s focus is on whole foods and local suppliers, so uses no preservatives, emulsifiers or artificially enhanced flavours.
$14 for 250ml glass bottle
drippingbowl.co.nz

GOOD CHOW NZ /PORK LARD CHILLI PASTE

Pork lard and cracklings are the key ingredients that give this smooth, full- bodied spreadable condiment a little crunch and chew. They are blended with fermented soybeans and naturally brewed soy sauce to give this product its natural umami, and a blend of chilli and pepper to create a tingling warm mouth feel.
$12.50 for 180g jar.
goodchownz.com

JILLY’S / RUSTIC SEED CRACKERS

With the crunch of a really good cracker and the goodness of sunflower seeds, olive oil, linseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds, these rustic seed crackers are based on the maker’s Mum’s recipe. Good enough to eat by themselves, they also perk up your cheese board or platter for impressive entertaining.
$12 for 120g packet.
jillscomplements.co.nz

MITCHELL’S NUTRITION / BEEF TALLOW

An alternative to ultra-processed seed oils, this tallow is sourced from 100% grass-fed and -finished New Zealand beef, and is a nutrient-rich, all-natural cooking oil, perfect for high-heat recipes. Rooted in traditional nose-to-tail eating, tallow adds a buttery, rich depth of flavour to roasting, baking and frying.
$24 for 450g jar.
mitchellsnutrition.com

PARCHED / SPRITZ MIX

With these ready-to-serve dehydrated blood orange, pink grapefruit and naval orange garnishes, it’s simple to make restaurant- or bar-quality drinks and fantastic desserts that will ramp up the wow factor. Dried at a low temperature to trap in all the juice and flavour, the edible citrus slices showcase the best characteristics of the zesty fruit. When you’re finished, keep the display jar and top up with 60g refill pouches.
$44 for 65g glass jar
parched.nz

THE WILD FERMENTARY / LIME COLA KEFIR SODA

Lime cola is a natural, fermented beverage with all the taste of classic cola but lower in sugar and alive with probiotics to aid digestion and uplift the mind. New Zealand’s first ever living cola, it was developed with Six Barrel Soda and features award- winning water kefir, fresh limes and Six Barrel Soda’s Cola Six. No artificial flavours, colours, sweeteners or preservatives.
$6.99 for 300ml.
thewildfermentary.co.nz

UMAMIBEE / THE TRIO GINISA (FILIPINO SAUTÉ BASE)

Inspired by traditional methods of sautéing garlic, onion and tomato, The Trio Ginisa fuses Filipino cooking roots with Japanese fermentation science. A slow-roasted base of ffresh aromatics is layered with miso, salted rice malt (shio koji), mushroom powder, seaweed and natural roasted garlic and onion flavours to create a vegan and gluten-free full-flavoured experience full of umami and savoury depth.
$17 for 235g.
umamibee.co.nz