Expleo owners Nells and Shawn Nicholas with their three awards at the 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards 2024.
Expleo owners Nells and Shawn Nicholas with their three awards at the 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards 2024.
Te Awamutu artisan butchery Expleo has brought home the bacon, winning four national awards.
In July, the family-run butchery was crowned category champion for its dry-cured streaky bacon and sliced ham while also gaining silver for its boneless ham at the 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards 2024.
It was Expleo’s first time entering awards since opening in 2018.
Expleo owner Shawn Nicholas said him and the team were “so incredibly proud” of their achievements.
“[It was] our first time entering, and to come away with two category champions just continues to blow our minds. Speaking to many other award recipients reinforced how extremely hard we all work and are dedicated to our craft,” he said.
“Our journey has been marred with crater-sized bumps. We have sacrificed, we have fallen, and we have hurt, no pretty picture here.
“But… we kept on. If you have belief, if you have grit and determination and put your everything into it and surround yourself with the right support, you can achieve.”
Nicholas said the Expleo crew was overwhelmed. They make one type of bacon and it came out as the best in the country.
Last month, the team followed up the triple win with a gold medal at this year’s Great NZ Sausage Competition, for their Irish pork sausage.
“There were a little over 800 entries this year, we’re incredibly proud. Thank you everyone for your continued support and a huge thank you to the team,” Nicholas said.
“It’s a pretty tough gig out there in every sense and doing what we do takes incredible effort. Everything we do is done by hand, so our goods are truly handcrafted and to reap the rewards is absolutely the icing on the cake.”
Expleo's Will (left) and Shawn Nicholas flank worker Zak Smith at the Dunninghams Great NZ Sausage Competition awards in Takapuna.
He said it had been “a special year” for the Expleo team, which appreciated the support of the Te Awamutu community.
“We’re just so grateful and thankful for the community that we’re in. Te Awamutu and the Waipā district is absolutely amazing. They supported us from day one. We’re quite humbled with that — they’re absolutely fantastic,” he said.
“Thank you to our valued customers. Without them, we wouldn’t have been able to create products to find out if they’re any good.”
Jesse Wood is a multimedia journalist based in Te Awamutu. He joined the Te Awamutu Courier and NZME in 2020.
