Us Kiwis and our sausage rolls - is there a more powerful love? There's something about that perfect blend of seasoned meat and flaky pastry that's just irresistible.
The National Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll Competition wrapped up in Christchurch and crowned the official top ten saussie rolls in the country.
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This year, they had a special guest judge - our very own Lana Searle from More FM's The Breakfast Club - and she’s got the inside scoop on everything that went down behind the scenes.
Lana said she felt “honoured” to be invited as one of the five judges for the awards.
“I can retire now,” she said, adding: “There is nothing in my mind that is greater than being a judge at a New Zealand sausage roll comp.”
Lana revealed that she had to tackle a whopping 30 sausage roll tastings, not just the 10 she had anticipated.
She described the experience as intense, “almost like wine tasting, with water to cleanse your palate and go again”.
Sounds like a tough job, right? But hey, someone's gotta do it!
Each sausage roll is heated the exact same at 180 degrees for 19 minutes, so it’s an even playing field, of course!
“It was really intense, but so cool to see the passion from these bakers across the country.”
The results were announced earlier this week with Rosedale Bakery's Samraksmey taking out first place.
Sopheap Long from Euro Patisserie in Torbay, Auckland did give Rosedale Bakery a run for their money, narrowly taking out second place.
According to Brent Kersel, the head honcho at NZ Bakels, it all comes down to the perfect blend of seasoning.
"Second place was a little bit over-seasoned," he said via Newshub.
He added: "With the gold, they got the seasoning right, the pastry was cooked well, good colour, and all five judges chose that as the legendary sausage roll at the end of the day when it was a split decision on the top two finalists."
The Top 10 of The National Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll Competition are:
- Samraksmey, Rosedale Bakery & Café, Albany, Auckland
- Sopheap Long, Euro Patisserie, Torbay, Auckland
- Lee Ing, Fast & Fresh Bakery, Taupō
- Cameron McKelvey, 16th Ave Café, Tauranga South
- Peggy Zhang, Kitchen Republic Cafa, Otamoetai, Tauranga
- Lam Ho, Paetiki Bakery, Taupō
- Dara Iv, Sockburn Bakery, Sockburn, Christchurch
- Rachel Jerard, Indulge Catering, Middleton, Christchurch
- Greaham Clark, Peter Timbs Meats, St Albans, Christchurch
- Vanndy Vit, Old Taupo Rd Bakehouse Café, Mangakakahi, Rotorua.
So, it turns out that there's more to a sausage roll than meets the eye. Who knew?
And just in case you were wondering, Sausage Roll of The Year might not have as much history as the famous Supreme Pie Awards, but with the Bakels team behind both, we’re sure to see it make the same name for itself
And something tells us Lana is hoping for another invite next year, or maybe she’ll be entering her sausage roll cake ‘Sausage La Torte’ she made earlier this year - It’s a winner for sure!
