What price pastry? Shock at $14.50 sausage roll

As the cost of living crisis continues, one New Zealander is questioning how much is too much to pay for a humble sausage roll.

When John Bredican returned from overseas he was shocked to see soaring prices of sausage rolls around Aotearoa.

Bredican told First Up although he was not a “massive fan” of the treat, he liked to keep an eye on it because it was an “iconic” Kiwi food.

“I would have thought around the $4 to $5 mark would be reasonable. But when it started heading north of $5, I was ‘hang on a minute, this is quite a bit of money for a sausage roll’.”

He said the highest price he saw was $14.50.

Bredican said the sausage roll came with no “gourmet touches”, but was thicker than usual.

“This was on the larger size in terms of fat, but it wasn’t long,” he said.

He said when he posted the picture of the roll on social media most people were not focused on the size.

“The reaction was ‘okay what else is in it and what else comes with it?’.”

First Up spoke to the cafe manager who said the sausage roll was popular with its customers.

“We make the sausage rolls ourselves, in house. It’s not just a standard sausage roll, it has apple to make the sweetness, plus onions, herbs and spices.

“It’s made with love - that should go a long way.

“It comes with a deli-made relish and garnish - it looks beautiful on the plate.”

The manager said it was a “pretty decent” size.

“Ever since we brought it in we haven’t changed our recipe - it’s probably one of our top sellers, typically making 60 per week.

Bredican said he had visited most cafes while travelling around various parts of the country and was in Hawke’s Bay currently.

He first posted about the price of sausage rolls when he spotted a $6.50 one on an Interislander ferry.

“I would have to say cafes are the ones that are attaching some very serious pricing to their sausage roll.”

He said he had been looking at the prices of sausage rolls in the UK for comparison.

“A gourmet one there is venison and pheasant, and that’s £3.50 in London.”

That is NZ$7.48.

“That’s a gourmet artisanal sausage roll, and I don’t think what I’ll be looking at the $10 and $14 regional sausage rolls is what I would describe as being artisanal. I think they’re your basic sausage roll.”