Dan Meredith has decided entering the Great NZ Toastie Takeover is going to be an annual event for Black Betty. Photo / NZME
Dan Meredith has decided entering the Great NZ Toastie Takeover is going to be an annual event for Black Betty. Photo / NZME
Last year Dan Meredith from Black Betty was the only Hawke's Bay entrant to make it into the finals of the Great NZ Toastie Takeover.
While the toastie didn't take out top spot, it was hugely popular with customers so Dan has decided that entering the competition is going tobe an annual event.
"It's our thing really. Casual street food that tastes awesome," Dan said.
Black Betty's Truffle-O Pork Sandwich.
This year their entry is titled Truffle-O Pork Sandwich and has toasted 'ya bon' sourdough, barbecue pulled pork, Betty's buffalo sauce, truffle mac n' cheese, McClure's Garlic & Dill Pickles & shaved parmesan.
"Ya bon do the best sourdough bread in the Bay so it was an easy choice. I'm really happy with how it looks and tastes and excited to see where we go with it."
They are not the only ones in the region entering the competition. There are five other excellent entries from Hawke's Bay:
■13th Stag, Hastings Sports Park - Big Stag Toastie: Venison mince, old English cheese, sourdough, McClure's pickles and special big stag sauce
13th Stag's Big Stag Toastie.
■Best Burgers, Havelock North - A Cluckin Patty Melt: Chicken fried Best Burgers patty, Swiss cheese, bacon & onion Jam, McClure's Bread & Butter Pickles, Best Burgers Special Sauce on house potato bread.
■Fork and Noise, Hastings (Food Truck) - The Cow Tipper: Braised beef cheek with charred tomato salsa, cheddar, and a McClure's Pickle and fennel slaw on sourdough. Served with a beef dripping dip.
Fork and Noise (Food Truck) - The Cow Tipper.
■That Sandwich Place, Napier - Monsieur Crunch: Inspired by the Croque Monsieur. Glazed ham, gruyere and dijon white sauce, McClure's Sweet & Spicy pickles, Swiss cheese on toasted sourdough.
That Sandwich Place - Monsieur Crunch.
This is the fifth year the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover competition has run.
It 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 per cent on last year.
The competition rules remain the same as previous years. Each toastie must be sandwiched between two slices of bread and able to be eaten by hand if necessary. The toasted sandwich must also contain cheese (or an acceptable vegan substitute) and pickles from the McClure's Pickles range.
Everything else is up to the toastie maker's imagination – and those imaginations have certainly been in overdrive this year.
The trend towards vegetarian or plant-based entrants also continues, with 17 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.
Last year's Great NZ Toastie Takeover was won by Steve MacDougall from Mollies in Blenheim with his Mo Jo Pork Cuban with a Twist.
The People's Choice Award, which went to Toastie Picton last year, will also return in 2022, giving Kiwis the power to vote for their favourite participating eatery and toasted sandwich.
