The judges in this year’s Great NZ Toastie Takeover have a difficult decision ahead as 13 outstanding finalists are revealed in the battle for the country’s top toasted sandwich
With a whopping 100,000 toasties served up since the first round of judging began on April 13, the competition’s more than 180 entries have now been whittled down to 13 finalists across six regions. Those finalists hail from Auckland, Ngatea, Okere Falls (Rotorua), Ohakune, Havelock North, Palmerston North, Greytown, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown, Twizel, and Dunedin, and encompass local eateries, rural roadside cafes, breweries, a food truck, a fish farm, a burger bar, an artisan food store, and a newly opened toasted sandwich bar.
Competition criteria required sandwiches to be toasted between two slices of bread and – like all respectable toasties – able to be eaten by hand. The toasted sandwiches also needed to contain cheese (or a vegan substitute) and McClure’s Pickles, with all the other ingredients left entirely to the entrants’ imaginations.
Head judge Kerry Tyack says those imaginations ran wild this year, presenting his team of 30-plus judges with an extremely tough task in choosing the finalists.“It feels like this year, amidst all the Covid chaos, the toastie has reached the lofty heights of the great Kiwi pie, the whitebait fritter, the perfect pav, and the cheese roll, and can now be accorded the status of national treasure,” he says.
“The judging team assessed many, many standouts in this year’s entries. Chefs tackling the toastie have clearly got the hang of making sure it is well toasted, easy to eat - even on the run, and has the right balance of complementary ingredients to keep customers coming back time and again.”
A variety of smoked and slow-cooked meats can be found among the ingredients in this year’s finalists, including pork, brisket, lamb shoulder, and salmon. Delicious cheese blends also feature, while several finalists have made inventive use of the McClure’s Pickles range, including using pickle brine and crispy fried pickles. Some finalists also chose to extend the toastie experience by including sides and tempting dippers, like gravy and tomato soup.
A finalist very close to home is Archie Café, who have created Pepper Pig: hot pork, double cheese blend, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, mustard and sriracha on toasted sourdough. It’s on the menu now, so if you’re a toastie fan we highly recommend you drop by and have taste!
Finalist judging commences this month with the competition’s toast-master royale, who will now visit all 13 finalists to sample their entries before liaising with Tyack and McClure’s Pickles co-founder Joe McClure to determine New Zealand’s top toasted sandwich. The competition’s supreme winner will be announced on Wednesday 27 July.
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