News

MEYER CHEESE MELT CHALLENGE WINNERS

This winter just under 30 eateries from around the Waikato have heated up their grills in an attempt to melt the hearts of locals with the ultimate comfort food — the cheese toastie. Over 950 votes were cast as the public enjoyed everything from the classics, like Te Awamutu cafe Red Kitchen’s Croque Monsieur or Furnace’s Philly Steak sandwich to the likes of Cucina Cafe’s entry, a lasagne encased in toasted Volare bread. Andrew Clarke at Camarosa went all out with a Croque Lobster – a lobster tail in golden toasted Volare brioche with melting Clevedon buffalo mozzarella and a Meyer garlic and chive Gouda mornay, poached egg, crayfish oil, crispy Vandy bacon crumbs and spicy kimchee. While Mr Pickles turned a toastie into the perfect bar snack selling over 1,800 of their Cubano Sliders.

With the votes counted, the finalists were determined and then mystery judged before a grand winner was determined. And this year the judges were won over by Cinnamon Café’s ‘Grind it up Pierre’, saying it was a beautifully executed classic combination.

The French classic frit au steak 'hache' turned into toastie form proved to be a huge hit with hundreds of comments from voters like these:

“Loved the beef and onion combination! And it was cooked to perfection.”

“Very tasty, amazing presentation, good portion size and at a great price.”

“Soooooo tasty and cheesy.”

“Taste and flavour was amazing, well presented.”

“The deliciousness of it all, mmmmmmm mince and cheese.”

“Delicious! Lovely combination.”

In its second year, the Meyer Cheese Melt Challenge had twice as many entries and went for twice as long in 2020. This saw a whopping 269kg of local cheese consumed. Award-winning local cheese makers Meyer Cheese were sponsors of the challenge in its debut in 2019 and were quick to come back on board for 2020. Miel Meyer admits grilled cheese toasties has been “my favourite food since forever. So when the concept of 'Melt' was launched by WFI we jumped at the chance to support it. This is us! Good soul warming food”. And Miel took the job as sponsor seriously, trying over half of the entries.

OVERALL WINNERS Cinnamon Cafe

(Sandwich Road, St Andrews) with ‘Grind it up Pierre’

Ground beef, onion, cheese and their own secret sauce, served with French fries and hollandaise.

PEOPLE’S CHOICE WINNERS Punnet Eatery

(Newells Road, Tamahere) with ‘Black Beauty’

Rich black pudding, dry cured bacon, Clevedon buffalo curd, NZ black truffle and Meyer goat gouda.

The Meyer Cheese Melt Challenge is organised by Waikato Food Inc, the team serving up the best in the Waikato.

News

CREATING THE GOOD LIFE

“There is a big red oven going in and a Spanish tile splashback,” says Wayne Good from Arkanda as he shows me around what is currently a shell of a 70-year-old cottage moved on to its current site from Whenuapai Airbase. “You need a bit of imagination,” admits Wayne, “but I can see it all in my head.” We can all see it this spring when the first stage is complete and Arkanda Gordonton opens its doors in late Spring.

There is an Egyptian door for the entrance, the floorboards are to be painted, and feature wallpaper is planned for the bathroom. But Wayne’s grand plans aren’t limited to the cottage. Next door is what was once a classroom and is to be stage two. Meanwhile, Wayne has his hands full as they transform a block of land on the Gordonton farm into Arkanda HQ. During lockdown over 100 fruit trees were planted in the front paddock. There is a glass house for propagating annuals and growing herbs, a camelia hedge, wildflower lawn all before the end of the driveway where you reach the barn. What was a utility shed has been transformed into a gorgeous space that will be the showroom for antiques, curios and a number of other things.

Wayne is known for turning his hand to many things from gourmet cook to tour guide and interior designer. This project will see him combine his talents in one evolving space while adding a few more strings to his bow.

Wayne is looking forward to hosting his annual Christmas cooking classes in his new space from mid-November.

To find out more about these go to www.arkanda.co.nz or to follow Wayne’s rural adventures follow him on Facebook.

VETRO HAMILTON OPENS

Three years in the planning by Cambridge couple Anna and Daryl Greentree and Hamilton finally has a specialty food store!

Vetro Hamilton opened its doors in September on Rostrevor Street. The purpose-built building is full of gourmet treats, imported specialty items as well as quality kitchen staples. Anna says they wanted to open a Vetro because “we love the product offering, business model and brand and felt there was a gap in the Waikato market”. The couple have ploughed everything into the venture with Anna working on it full time for ten months as she added to her existing skill set after leaving her role as a National Account manager for a health supplements business, which she had done for the last 6 years.

I asked Anna, when she was knee deep unpacking pallets of stock, what she was loving. Her response: “There is something new to see every day! The pastas we have are amazing – loads of variety, top quality and at a great price. The range of vinegars, oils and interesting fish are wide and varied and the Greek range is absolutely delicious. There is something here for everyone.”

Check it out for yourself! Vetro Hamilton is open from 9am–5.30pm Monday–Friday, and 9.30am–4pm on Saturdays at 122 Rostrevor Street, Hamilton.