TOASTIES The Best Thing since

THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD

The toasted sandwich or ‘toastie’ is a Kiwi classic. Beloved by consumers as an easy snack to make at home, toasties are also incredibly popular on cafe and restaurant menus, bringing together some of the most loved foods by uniting bread, cheese, meats, veggies, and condiments. They’re affordable, portable, and the varieties are endless.

So, let’s unravel, layer by layer, what makes the toasted sandwich so satisfying.

A Takeaway Treat

The global pandemic has reinforced delivery and takeaway trends and toasted sandwiches are the perfect fit for an easy and delicious takeaway treat. Convenience tends to be more important at breakfast and lunch than at dinner - a good thing to keep in mind for your offerings throughout the day.

Toasties are a great option for customers who want to grab something on the go.

Conveniently Customisable

In part driven by the pandemic, consumers have been seeking variety and new types of food choices including unique combinations and unusual ingredients. This makes toasted sandwiches an easy option to customise to customers’ tastes or to offer build-your-own options.

The simplicity of the basic building blocks of a toasted sandwich means it’s a menu item begging for experimentation.

Familiar, but with Endless Possibilities

There seems to be a toasted sandwich for every taste, mood, time of day and even time of year. The reason it works so well is that it has that well-known format, so no matter how much the ingredients may vary, customers will always know what they’re going to get.

The familiarity of the sandwich format makes even the most adventurous experimentation with new flavours an easy sell – and consumers appreciate variety and versatility.

The Classic Vs The Avant-Garde

Classics are classics for a reason, and when it comes to toasties that traditionally means a savoury menu item, most likely filled with cheese. But even classics can evolve, a blue cheese toasted sandwich with manuka honey or quince spread, for example, instantly kicks this menu item up the luxury scale.

The evolution of the toasted sandwich doesn’t end there.

All Day Menu Magic

The toasted sandwich is one of those magical dishes that can find a home on any part of the menu, from morning ‘til night.

Why not take that toastie from the lunch or snack offering and add it to the dessert menu?

Sounds crazy until your customers can’t get enough of the Blueberry Cheesecake Toastie made with balsamic blueberries and cream cheese.

GRILLS AT THE READY! The Ultimate Toastie Taste Test is Back!

The Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, the nation’s premier toasted sandwich contest, is back for a fifth year and ready to titillate taste buds right around the country.

The popular competition has been steadily gaining momentum, with last year’s contest attracting more than 120 entries and serving up an incredible 80,000 gourmet toasties. But those numbers have taken off for 2022, with 185 venues participating from Waitangi in the north to Lumsden in the south – an increase of 53 percent on last year.

This year’s entries are a mix of iconic eateries and local gems, made up of bars, restaurants, cafes, a boutique hotel, an iconic cinema, breweries, food trucks, hole-in-thewall serveries, a winery and even an RSA. Other unique entrant locations include a bowling alley, salmon farm, destination cheese store, and the Bluebridge Cook Strait ferry.

A wide array of ingredients can be found across the entries in 2022, including brisket, bacon hock, buttermilk chicken, beerpoached beef, lamb chops, and venison mince, while entrants have been equally adventurous with their toastie condiments – think homemade feijoa BBQ sauce, peanut butter, caramelised banana, confit beetroot, and the quintessential Kiwi onion dip.

The trend towards vegetarian or plant-based entrants also continues, with 15 vegetarian and six vegan entries, with ingredients like vegan black pudding, plant ‘pastrami’, and cauliflower and facon bits on the menu. A keto toasted sandwich entry has also made the cut this year.

Judging now begins, with the 12 finalists from each of the six competition regions revealed on June 22. The supreme winner will be revealed on July 27.

Each toastie will be scored on a set criteria, including presentation, effectiveness of preparation technique, eatability, taste, innovation, and originality. The competition’s grand toastmaster and McClure’s Pickles founder, Detroit based Joe McClure, will then visit the finalists to sample the entries and liaise with Tyack to determine New Zealand’s top toastie for 2022.

McClure said he’s humbled by the number of entries; especially given the tough couple of years the hospitality industry has faced.

“What an incredible list of entries - I’m blown away by the sheer number and the quality of the entrants, as well as the time that has gone into developing some innovative and incredible sounding toasted sandwiches. Covid-related restrictions permitting, I’m really looking forward to returning to one of my favourite countries to judge the top toasties in June.”