Little 'Lato Scoops the 2019 NZ Ice Cream Awards
Hannah from Little ‘Lato has been recognised for her crazy cool confections yet again at the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards with a freezer full of awards.
Little ‘Lato is the home of the best in category Hazelnut Chocolate and Massaman Curry as well as four golds and four silvers for flavours like white chocolate and passionfruit gelato, lime coriander and grapefruit sorbet and banoffee gelato.
Hannah, you are a legend. Here’s the full swag of gongs:
GOLD AWARD: Honey, Fig, Ricotta & Poppy Seed Gelato
GOLD AWARD: Lime, Coriander & Grapefruit Sorbet
GOLD AWARD: Hazelnut Chocolate Gelato
GOLD AWARD: Massaman Curry Gelato
SILVER AWARD: Banoffee Gelato
SILVER AWARD: White Chocolate Passionfruit Gelato
SILVER AWARD: Mango Lassi
SILVER AWARD: DF Peanut Butter Chocolate
How does she do it? Gelato Queen Hannah Wood answers five questions:
Where did the inspiration for Massaman Curry gelato come from?
This was one of a whole bunch of ideas that were created for the Open Creative category (one which is all about doing something you have never sold before and pushing the boundaries in terms of innovation). Curry had been suggested by my sister so I added a couple of curry options into the mix. I wouldn’t even say that the Massaman Curry was the most obscure of the mix that I trialled, but it was definitely one of the crowd favourites when tasting with friends before the event!
How does a wee boutique provider tackle the big guys and win?
In all honesty it is just us giving it our best shot at making bloody delicious gelato! We have the flexibility of changing up flavours as much as we want, which means we quickly see what flavours are the most popular with customers. It also means we get to trial a wide range of flavours (including pushing the boundaries a bit more), and the fact that everything is made by hand gives us additional ability to give almost anything a shot.
Some of the bigger players have massive volumes that their products have to meet, so it can sometimes mean they play on the safer side and they also can have limitations around is able to be processed.
We may be small, but we reckon we have some pretty great product and that’s worth a shot competing against the big guys!
Were you nervous on the night?
I wasn’t really nervous, more just ready to go in there and have a fun night! I tried to treat it as more of a celebration of the last year; if I won anything that was just a bonus.
Did you celebrate with Pink champagne sorbet?
Ha, no pink champagne sorbet this time around… but plenty of champagne! The awards were also in the middle of the NZ Ice Cream Manufacturers conference and it’s fair to say I had a ‘celebratory’ amount of ice cream and gelato over the two days!
Any special flavours coming out for Christmas?
Yes we have a handful of Christmas flavours coming out! Christmas Pudding is one of the ones that will be stocked up for the month of December, as well as some rotating favourites such as Gingerbread, Candy Cane, Brandy Snap and more.
Stop in for a taste test – it’s only right that you personally taste a few options to be sure you get the perfect flavours for your Christmas pud!