Twice as Nice – Rotorua’s Okere Falls Reigns Supreme For Second Time

A Rotorua café has taken out the title of New Zealand’s top toasted sandwich for 2024 – and it’s the second time the award-winning Rotorua chef has aced the annual competition.

Chef Rich Johns at Okere Falls Store, Cafe & Craft Beer Garden has won top honours in this year’s Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover search with his supremely delicious toastie, ‘Figgy In The Middle’.

Johns’ winning creation beat out 169 other entries from across the country, with its innovative combination of dill pickle cheesecake whip, Swiss cheese, sliced figs, Vandy’s streaky bacon, toasted walnuts, rocket, McClure's pickles, blue cheese and a generous drizzle of chilli honey. 

Sandwiched between golden toasted and buttered spelt sourdough from local bakers Pantry D’or and topped with copious amounts of grated parmesan, the judges described the winning entry as “a generous portion of creatively concocted deliciousness” and a “one-way ticket to taste-ville”. 

“There were a lot of flavours and textures at play here, but they popped and pulled together to create a sensational eat,” says head judge Kerry Tyack. 

“The ingredients worked harmoniously, the subtle cooking of the bacon key as it remained the hero with the cheeses in support. The chilli honey was used judiciously and the rocket provided the freshness to keep the toastie lifted and interesting until the end. 

“But it was the inclusion of the figs that was the real kicker, elevating the toastie into the gourmet category and a conversation point worthy of a multi-time competition entrant and former winner. 

“With his winning entry, Rich has not only surpassed himself but has elevated and transformed the humble toasted sandwich into something wonderous, full of exotic flavours and tempting textures. We applaud the work of Rich and the team at Okere Falls Store who have given us such a generous portion of creatively concocted deliciousness.”

Winner of the Great NZ Toastie Takeover 2024 Peoples Choice Award, Brotha ‘Mmmm’ by Caper’s Café & Store

Also scoring high in this year’s competition is Rotorua‘s Caper’s Café & Store, taking home the People’s Choice Award for their ‘Brotha ‘Mmmm’ toastie, a clever combination of hoisin glazed pork belly with sweet chilli and garlic, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, crispy fried shallots, mozzarella, tasty cheese, spring onion and red onion and miso mayonnaise, on garlic buttered Turkish sesame bread.

This is Johns’ second win of the hotly contested title and keeps the custom Rikki Berger trophy firmly in the Bay of Plenty for three-years running, with last year’s trophy taken home by chef Brooke Moore at Mount Maunganui’s Freeport with Cleaver & Co.

In the little town of Okere Falls, just outside of Rotorua, the achievement must come as no surprise to locals, with the busy café and beer garden dishing out hundreds of toasties each week throughout the competition so far.

With no formal qualifications, the wedding photographer turned award-winning chef started at Okere Falls Store– firstly as a barista, before quickly moving into the kitchen, where he became head chef. 

So where does Johns find his inspiration when creating his award-winning toasties? 

“The idea was to create a cheeseboard in a toastie. Starting with the pickle cheesecake mix which had a lot of savoury elements going on, we added in a bit of fruit (the figs), cheese (crumbled blue cheese, Swiss cheese, parmesan), the honey, the pickles. The bacon was added at the last minute as we wondered if we might alienate customers who loved our previous two entries which were both brisket.

“The inspiration came from my son and a recent family trip to Italy over summer. My son, who had only really eaten one kind of cheese, took to all the cheeses and cheese boards that we were eating – fresh, aged, blue cheese, you name it. And I thought if he likes all these flavours, then our customers – and the judges – might too.”

Rotorua chef Rich Johns holds both of his Great NZ Toastie Takeover Supreme Awards aloft

On the win, Johns describes it as “humbling” and “mind blowing”. “Every year I’m so impressed and inspired by what everyone else is doing. It hasn’t really sunken in yet, but it’s great to know that people are loving what we do and that what we are doing is working.”

That appreciation is backed up by the numbers too. Johns says the café has sold over a thousand ‘Figgy in the Middle’ toasties so far, which he expects will jump significantly once word of the win gets out. 

“It sounds crazy but we sold more than 10,000 toasties last time we won (in 2022). We still get people asking for it, even now.”

Head judge Kerry Tyack praised the quality of this year’s entries, which made determining the overall winner a real challenge for the 30-strong team of judges. 

“Our judges have felt the passion in the toasties they have tried around the motu this year and are mightily impressed with the imagination, the skill and in some cases the bravery of the cooks and chefs who entered this year.

“Not everything worked but every single one of them deserved to be tried and enjoyed. There is still room to do better particularly with bread choices and getting the layering just right. But by crikey, we can’t wait to see what magical spells our toastie wizards come up with next year.”

A firm feature on the culinary calendar, this year’s seventh annual competition saw 170 eateries across the nation battle it out for the title of top toastie, with this year’s participants ranging from sandwich specialists to city bistros, breweries and food trucks, with a winery, a butchery and the nation’s best bread makers also in the mix.

After narrowing the 170-strong field down to just 14, a final round of judging saw each finalist again assessed on presentation, effectiveness of preparation technique, eatability, taste, innovation and originality.

Detroit-based co-owner and founder of McClure’s Pickles, Joe McClure, who wasn’t able to judge in person this year, says he had a hard time watching his social accounts fill up with toastie images. 

“To see how Kiwis continue to take a grilled sandwich and elevate it into so many delicious toastie creations is just incredible. 

“It seems every year the Toastie Takeover rackets up a notch and this year was no exception. Competition was fierce and I didn’t envy the judges their challenge of determining a winner, but I do know the process was rigorous - and involved a whole lot of eating! 

“Feedback has been that Rich from Okere Falls blew everyone away for the second time with a toastie that was exceptional, super well executed and absolutely delicious. If you’re a toastie lover, I would encourage you to get to Rotorua while you can and get amongst it!”

The winning toastie will be on the Okere Falls Store menu for another few months at least.

The Great NZ Toastie Takeover 2024 was brought to you by Cook & Nelson and McClure’s Pickles. 

@cookandnelson @mcclurespickles #toastietakeover