Sustainability drives the butchery business of these patty-makers from Palmy.

There’s no obvious correlation between luxury cars and burger patties, but Braden Parsons insists there are transferable skills between the two. Braden and his partner, Nicola Fitzsimons, run Moreish Premium Organic Butchery together but come from two different worlds; Nicola grew up on a Manawatū poultry farm, while Braden is a townie who used to work in the luxury car industry.

The Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards judges didn’t put the handbrake on their superlatives when awarding Moreish’s Organic Scotch Fillet and Moreish Pure Organic Beef Burger Patties joint Emerson’s Paddock Champion. They gushed about the tender, juicy steaks with “amazing mouthfeel” and the steaky beef and great texture of the meat patties.

When it launched, Moreish had a brick-and-mortar store in Palmerston North, initially set up as an outlet to sell organic chicken from Nicola’s parents’ farm. When her parents retired and Nicola and Braden took over in 2018, they closed the store and went 100 per cent online, selling beef, lamb, chicken and pork, a brave move when customers were less savvy about shopping online for fresh food. The lockdowns in 2020 introduced many new customers to Moreish, and the business has been in overdrive since. The business now has 10 staff, including three butchers, and has built up a network of 50 certified organic farmers nationwide who supply them with carcasses year-round.

In this quasi-cooperative model, Braden and Nicola visit their farmers regularly to check on how their future meat supply is tracking.

The prize-winning patties are made with minced beef seasoned with salt and pepper, and their manual production simply involves the butchers weighing the mince, rolling it flat and stamping it by hand with a patty stamp. “Moreish is a nose-to-tail butcher, and meat patties are good for using the whole animal,” says Nicola.

About the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards

The winners of the seventh Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards make some of the most delicious food and drink Aotearoa has ever tasted. Salute the medallists and winners and show your support by buying their gourmet treats.

CATEGORY CHAMPIONS

Supreme Champion: Premium Pine Nuts, Pinoli, Marlborough
Emerson’s Paddock Champion: Organic Scotch Fillet & Pure Organic Beef Burger Patties, Moreish Premium Organic Butchery, Palmerston North
Dairy Champion: Oamaru Blue, Whitestone Cheese Co, Ōamaru
Seafood New Zealand Water Champion: Live Crayfish, Tora Collective, Tora Bay
Farro Earth Champion: Premium Pine Nuts, Pinoli, Marlborough
Label & Litho Drink Champion: Currant Crush, Pete’s Natural, Nelson
Free-From Champion: Mango Lassi Ice Cream, Little ‘Lato, Auckland

Find the full list of winners here, and medallists here.

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