Cream of the crop: Hamilton Pavlova Competition Winner Announced

Jackie Bennett has produced the overall winning Pav in Nosh Food Market’s first annual Waikato Pavlova competition.

The secret to a winning pav: “Put it in a hot oven at 180 degrees for five minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the pav inside for one hour. And that’s it,” says Jackie.

The inaugural competition involved 15 “exceptional” entries according to judges Mayor Hardaker, Vanilla café owner and food writer Sarah Turpitt and Nosh store manager David Donoghue.

They reported they had a difficult task separating the ‘white’ from the chaff.

Of the winning pav the judges said: “It had a great shape with the right pav crispness, lovely consistent meringue and a good outer with mellow inside. The flavour was exceptional with a nice combination of cherry and chocolate.”

Jackie Bennett says she used an old family recipe that had been passed through the generations. “I make the same recipe every year and it never fails to get comments from my friends and family,” she says.

Winner of the Best Dressed section went to Fiona Barnett with Sarah Tennant as the runner up. Peter Clarke was runner up in the overall section.

Mayor Hardaker was thrilled to judge the competition. “I think this is the best competition I’ve judged! Pavlovas are a New Zealand icon at Christmas, and all year really. The entries today were absolutely outstanding, beautifully decorated with a lot of love and attention.”

Young Sophie Aubrey won the children’s section with a rustic-style pav topped with berries, cherries and berry syrup.

“I was blown away by the effort in the children’s section, it was just amazing. And delicious!” said Mayor Hardaker.

The competition was held at the Nosh Hamilton store and shoppers were treated to a People’s Choice section where they could sample the creamy treats and place their own votes.

Winners and runners up receive a combination of Nosh Dosh, Nosh hampers and cookbooks, along with a month’s supply of FRENZ eggs

Best overall Pavlova: Jackie Bennett

Runner up: Peter Clarke
Best child’s (under 15) pavlova: Sophie Aubrey

Best dressed pavlova: Fiona Barnett

Runner up: Sarah Tennant