Entries for The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, the nationwide competition to find the tastiest, cheesiest, most delicious toasted sandwiches, open today -5 May.
This is the eighth year The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, created by Cook & Nelson and McClure’s Pickles, has opened to hospitality providers throughout New Zealand. The event encourages chefs and cooks to elevate the humble but perennially popular toastie to new heights with original flavour combinations and ingredients.
The premise is simple: cafés, restaurants, bars, food trucks and pop-ups enter the competition with their toastie, put it on the menu for winter and compete to be crowned the best toastie maker in Aotearoa.
Entry Rules
From 5 May to 11 June, eateries can sign up to enter the competition. Entries cost $149 for past participants, $199 for new entrants, and an early bird discount of 10% is available for all until 22 May. The final deadline for registrations is 11 June and the competition starts on 25 June.
Each entry must be on the menu for the full duration of the competition (25 June to 5 August) and available to diners during lunch and/or dinner hours. Members of a team of judges, overseen by food critic Kerry Tyack, taste-test every dish in the competition and score them according to presentation, preparation, eat-ability, taste, provenance and innovation. On 6 August, 12 finalists in the 2025 competition will be announced. Judging then begins for the supreme winner, announced 20 August.
While each toastie must be sandwiched between two slices of bread, contain cheese (or a vegan substitute), McClure’s Pickles and must be able to be eaten by hand, the other components can be as wild, wacky, luxurious or ubiquitous as the hospitality professionals like.
“We get such a kick out of seeing the innovative toastie creations that our participants come up with each year,” says Nick Brown, co-owner of Cook & Nelson. “It’s a testament to the creativity of our hospo industry that they keep coming back year after year with brilliant toasted sandwiches. We can’t wait to see what entrants come up with this year, and to visit them all and taste their sambos. Winter can be a tough time for eateries and this is a great, affordable way for diners around the country to get out and support their local spots.”
Figgy In The Middle
Last year, Okere Falls in Rotorua was named the supreme winner with its ‘Figgy in the Middle’ toastie, featuring Swiss cheese, pickle cheesecake mix, walnuts, figs, streaky bacon, rocket, chilli honey, blue cheese and McClure’s Pickles, sandwiched between buttered sourdough bread, topped with parmesan.
The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover was established in 2018. Last year, chefs and eateries from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South participated and more than 100,000 toasties were served by 170 eateries.
