The Great NZ Toastie Takeover Past Winners
Winner of the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover 2023: Chef Brooke Moore from Mount Maunganui’s Freeport with Cleaver & Co
The North Island is home to the country’s tastiest toasted sandwich once again, with Mount Maunganui’s Freeport with Cleaver & Co taking top honours in the Great NZ Toastie Takeover 2023.
Talented young chef Brooke Moore has won the hotly contested title - and snagged bragging rights for the North for the second time only in the competition’s history - with her impressive creation Surf, Turf & Smoke, Monsieur!
A standout for competition judges, Freeport’s winning toastie featured housemade smoked lamb pastrami, smoked prawns, mozzarella, smoked cheddar sauce and McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, sandwiched between locally-made BreadHead miso tahini sourdough and served with smoked aioli and pickle juice gel.
The win will come as no surprise to locals. A favourite with Mount Maunganui residents and Bay visitors alike, Freeport with Cleaver & Co and owners Aaron Hodson and Tim McLaren have been serving up mouthwatering creations from their Bayfair base for four years now.
Winner of the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover 2022: Chef Rich Johns from Rotorua’s Okere Falls Store and Craft Beer Garden
The North Island has finally snagged bragging rights to the country’s best toasted sandwich, with a Bay of Plenty cafe winning the 2022 Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover.
Chef Rich Johns from Rotorua’s Okere Falls Store and Craft Beer Garden has won the hotly contested title – and brought an end to the South Island’s three-year winning streak in the competition – with his ‘Get Smoked, Pickled + Toasted’ creation.
The winning sandwich consists of house-smoked, beer-brined brisket, McClure's Pickles, hop-salted mozzarella, smoked cheddar, watercress, and horseradish on Bread Asylum X Lumberjack Brewing spent grain sourdough with pickle brine sour cream and a beer gravy dipping bowl – all served up for a very reasonable $15.50.
Winner of the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover 2021: Chef Steve MacDougall from Mollies Bar & Eatery in Blenheim
The South Island is once again home to the country’s tastiest toasted sandwich with a relatively new Blenheim eatery taking top honours in the Great NZ Toastie Takeover.
Chef Steve MacDougall from Mollies Bar & Eatery (attached to boutique Hotel d’Urville) has won the competition with his toastie creation, the Mo Jo Pork Cuban with a Twist. With slow roasted pork belly, provolone, chimichurri, American mustard, McClure's Pickles and apple chilli gel slathered between toasted sourdough and served with kumara crisps, the sandwich has been a standout for customers and competition judges alike.
Winner of the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover 2020: Chef Romeo Dowling-Mitchell from Hungry Hobos
Good old-fashioned comfort food has reigned supreme in this year’s Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover competition with a small Dunedin eatery and its supremely delicious meatloaf creation taking top honours.
Romeo Dowling-Mitchell of Hungry Hobos can now officially lay claim to the best toasted sandwich in the land with his “Bat out of Hell” entry, featuring homemade meatloaf (made to Grandma’s recipe), creamy mashed potato, gravy, aged cheddar and Made in the USA McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles slathered between herb-buttered ciabatta.
Winner of the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover 2019: Chef Joseph Walker from Hokitika Sandwich Company
The West Coast is officially home to the country’s best toastie, with the Hokitika Sandwich Company winning the inaugural Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover competition.
Created by owner Joseph Walker, the eatery’s $10 ‘Detroit’ took out top prize in the contest with its combination of corned beef, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, Harvarti and cream cheeses, red onion, and Walker’s own in-house sauce toasted on a locally sourced and baked to order loaf.