Hawke's Bay apples win innovation award

Hawke's Bay has proven it's a foodies' heaven with two local companies scoring major wins at the New Zealand Food Awards in Auckland last night.
Phil Alison's miniature Rockit apples, developed by Havelock North Fruit Company, won the KPMG Food Enterprise Innovation award and the top spot for the best Small or Emerging Enterprise.
Company director Mr Alison was said it was fantastic to win in a competition that gathered "top flight" food industries from all over New Zealand.
The coups represented hard work, fun and a lot of luck for Mr Alison who spent five years developing the apple through cross-breeding. "We wouldn't have done it without a lot of people. [The awards are] a great coup for Hawke's Bay and the New Zealand apple industry," he said.
The miniature apples were launched less than four months ago. They sold out, and Mr Alison said he received weekly emails from stockists wanting more.
The Rockits were exclusively grown in Hastings, but production was beginning to "crank up" as growers here and overseas were signing up.
Also flying the Bay flag, Kaweka Food Company won awards for innovation and food safety for its ready-to-eat lamb shank with rosemary and red-wine sauce meal. The judges said: "Kaweka Foods has managed to retort process - cooking after the product has been sealed - so the foods are not only shelf-stable, but look good and have great flavour and texture."