Rotorua chef Rich Johns is the winner of this year's Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover, with a creation inspired by an Italian holiday. Photo: Supplied
You'll need streaky bacon, sliced figs and plenty of cheese to make the best toastie in New Zealand.
'Figgy in the Middle', a sweet and savoury creation from Rotorua chef Rich Johns, has just been crowned the ultimate champion at this year's Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover.
The winning toastie can be found on the menu at Okere Falls Store, Cafe & Craft Beer Garden, just outside Rotorua.
It features 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, all sandwiched between golden and toasted sourdough. It's then topped with copious amounts of grated parmesan for that finishing touch.
'Figgy in the Middle', up close. Photo: Supplied
NZ's best toastie winner announced
Johns describes it as "a cheeseboard in a sandwich", inspired by a recent summer holiday trip to Italy.
"We were eating so many different cheeses and fresh, delicious food. We were initially thinking of doing a sweet toastie to begin with, but we kind of changed it at the last minute ... we just found these flavours that would gel together, different textures and things, that's how it came together.
"The figs were added at the last minute, it was initially going to be called 'Piggy in the Middle' because it had the bacon, but it was just missing something ... we were like, 'Man, what does well with blue cheese?' and came to figs. They got chucked in and that kind of just elevated it. We were like, 'Wow, 'Figgy in the Middle' it is."
'Figgy in the Middle' beat out 169 other entries from across the country.
The figs ended up being the star of the show. Photo: Supplied
Head judge Kerry Tyack praised the toastie for the range of "exotic flavours" and "tempting textures" it had, saying the ingredients worked harmoniously.
Johns says contradicting flavours and textures are important to creating a good toastie.
"Texture plays a massive part in it. Your bread has to be really well toasted so you get that initial crunch as you bite your teeth into it, it has to have a real good balance of flavours, some good saltiness, it needs to have a little bit of sweetness, it needs some savoury going on, and then flavours that kind of contrast with each other work exceptionally well."
It's the second time Johns has taken out the prestigious toastie competition. In 2022, Okere Falls' 'Get Smoked, Pickled + Toasted' sandwich impressed judges with an innovative combination of flavours, including beer-brined brisket, hot-salted mozzarella, and horseradish.
Rich "definitely" didn't expect to win a second time.
"It's got blue cheese, the figs, all of those are just such polarising ingredients. We definitely didn't go into the competition thinking we were gonna win, we were stoked to just make the finals."
Johns has twice taken out the top place in the Great New Zealand Toastie Takeover. Photo: Supplied
But the toastie was a hit with judges - which comes as no surprise to Rotorua locals. Okere Falls is always busy dishing out hundreds of toasties each week to hungry patrons.
The 'Figgy in the Middle' toastie has been sold over a thousand times already - a number Johns expects will jump once word gets out about the win.
"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."
And 2024 should be no different - Johns' winning toastie was determined the overall winner by a panel of 30 judges, who assessed the entrants on presentation, effectiveness of preparation technique, eatability, taste, innovation, and originality.
"A couple of them said it was a perfect score, they couldn't find any fault in it ... it was quite mindblowing really."