Two Rotorua eateries make toastie competition finals

Capers Café and Store apprentice chef Jesse Olsen was inspired to create a "taco-style" toastie. Photo / Supplied

When it comes to toasties, Rotorua is a cut above the crust.

Lime Cafe and Capers Cafe & Store has been named among 13 finalists in the 2025 Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover.

The competition is open to all New Zealand eateries, with specific criteria requiring sandwiches to be toasted between two slices of bread and easily eaten by hand.

Each toastie must include cheese (or a vegan substitute) and McClure’s Pickles, with the remaining ingredients left to the entrants’ creativity.

This year’s competition was the biggest yet, with more than 200 eateries competing.

Lime Cafe head chef Rohan Jalota had a “gut feeling” their toastie would make the finals.

He said the very first time they served one, a customer “fell in love”.

“She [keeps] coming back, say, twice a week – just for the toastie,” he said.

The Hogget Stuck in Spelt toastie was a blend of braised lamb, minted caramelised onions, creamy camembert, McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles, jalapenos, peppery arugula, and salted pecans, all melted together between slices of hearty spelt sourdough.

Jalota said the goal was simple: “Make a toastie that makes people say ‘wow’.”

He was especially proud of the toastie’s “cool name”, which he came up with himself. Hogget is a sheep just out of lamb stage and the spelt sourdough was made at his bakery, Pantry d’Or Boutique Bakery.

Lime Cafe's Ning Natvaly, Kelsey O'Connor, Hannah McGovern, John Paul Tolentino, Rohan Jalota – the head chef and toastie creator. Photo / Supplied

Last year’s supreme Toastie Takeover winner was Rotorua’s Okere Falls Store, with its Figgy in the Middle toastie featuring Swiss cheese, pickle cheesecake mix, walnuts, figs, streaky bacon, rocket, chilli honey, blue cheese and pickles.

Jalota said the Okere Falls toastie was made using their Pantry d’Or sourdough.

So he figured, “I can stick some lamb in the middle of the spelt [too]”.

The toastie earned a spot at the top of Lime Cafe’s specials board, quickly becoming a best-seller and customer favourite.

Lime Cafe's toastie finalist in the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, the Hogget Stuck in Spelt. Photo / Supplied

Jalota said every toastie was made with “pure love”.

Capers Cafe & Store marketing manager Philly Angus said in her opinion, Rotorua was the “toastie capital of New Zealand”.

Capers’ finalist entry, the Braised Birria Brotha, featured slow-cooked, birria-style brisket, parmesan, mozzarella, red onion, coriander and McClure’s Sweet & Spicy Pickles on toasted panini served with a side of tomato salsa and rich consommé for dipping.

Angus said apprentice chef Jesse Olsen was inspired to create a “taco-style” toastie, aiming to capture a vibrant “Mexican street food vibe”.

Last year the cafe won the People’s Choice Award with its Brotha ‘Mmmm toastie, a hoisin-glazed pork belly creation.

Caper’s Café & Store head chef Jay Baker with Zion Te Kowhai, Paris Mohi and Angela Lobes. Photo / Annabel Reid

Angus said their 2024 toastie was “so popular” they sometimes ran out of the makings.

She said this year the team “dialled in” to make sure no one would miss out on the “tastiest toastie in Rotorua”.

Toastie Takeover head judge Kerry Tyack said having two finalists from one city was impressive.

She said the competition this year was “really tough”, with all finalists scoring more than 90 out of 100.

“These Rotorua toasties have certainly met the criteria and gone that extra mile with creativity,” she said.

Tyack said the Rotorua community was always “very supportive” of the toastie competition, with plenty of entries and cafes selling “a hell of a lot of toasties”.

The 2025 supreme winner will be announced on August 20, with the winner earning the title of New Zealand’s best toastie-maker for the next 12 months.

Each of the finalists’ toasties would remain on menus until then.

The judging panel also highly recommended several other local entries, including those served at:

• Okere Falls Store & Craft Beer Garden, Okere Falls
• Mr. Wolf, Rotorua
• Sudima Hotel, Rotorua
• Shadehouse Cafe, Rotorua

Annabel Reid is a multimedia journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post, based in Rotorua. Originally from Hawke’s Bay, she has a Bachelor of Communications from the University of Canterbury.