South Australia’s Kinkawooka mussels are officially small, sweet and delicious fish in a BIG pond today as Port Lincoln’s own Kinkawooka Shellfish Co. has won the title of Producer of the Year at the delicious. magazine produce awards.
The awards, revered in the food industry and judged by industry luminaries such as Maggie Beer, Alla Wolf Tasker and Cheong Liew, recognise the best of Australia’s food producers – from the dairy, the paddock, the earth and the sea.
MC Matt Preston handed the big award over to Kinkawooka saying it was testament to the team behind the mussels and their dedication to accessibility, quality, consistency and a commitment to building the category.
Kinkawooka Shellfish owner Andrew Puglisi, a sixth generation fisherman and pioneer of best-case practice black mussel farming and processing in Australia said the award is a credit to the team behind Kinkawooka – and to the little molluscs themselves.
"They're small and sweet, the perfect package," he said. “This award means a hell of a lot to us – the effort day in day out into the product from all levels – from the water, to the factory, to the sales team – every facet,” he said.
Produce awards judge and fellow South Aussie Maggie Beer said the mussels from Kinkawooka reflect seasonality and provenance and just how good the producers of the Eyre Peninsula are.
“They really are amazingly delicious,” she said.
Plucked from the cold crisp waters of the Great Southern Ocean, using the latest in harvesting technology and time-tested handling, Kinkawooka Shellfish is able to process mussels within hours of capture. This guarantees only the freshest and tastiest mussels reach the plate.
Kinkawooka won the award for the “from the sea” category as well as taking out the overall award for producer of the year.
Check out the mini documentary featuring Andrew Puglisi from Kinkawooka filmed at Adelaide Central Market here: http://vimeo.com/25749048
More News
