A total of 408 bakeries entered the Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll Competition but only one took out the top spot.
Breakfast's Tessa Parker surprised the winning bakery — Rosedale Bakery and Cafe — this morning to hand over the trophy. The bakery is located in Auckland's Albany.
Owner Samraksmey So accepted the award, saying he and his wife worked hard for the win.
"The bakery only has two people," he said.
"My wife, and my friend comes in to help two days a week."
Reporter Tessa Parker handed over the winning trophy to the North Shore bakery. (Source: Breakfast)
So said when he was baking sausage rolls in preparation for the competition he was in the kitchen until "1am or 2am", then was back in the morning to try again.
He said the winning sausage roll was made in 30 minutes before he submitted the baked good.
So, who comes from Cambodia, said the winning food item was made of a mix of meats, containing lamb, pork and beef, with added cheese and onion.
When asked what makes a good sausage roll, So said the meat needs to be not too salty, and not too sweet, with the pastry having an egg and milk wash to make it the "colour of sunshine".
He said his customers knew he would win, often telling him he has the best sausage rolls.
The Rosedale Bakery and Cafe has been open since 2020, and also won second place in the Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie awards for its mince and cheese pie earlier this year.
How are the awards judged?
Breakfast's Digby Werthmuller joined the judges to see how the pastry treat winners were determined.
Christchurch reporter Digby Werthmuller joined the judges of the Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll Competition to see what it takes to win. (Source: Breakfast)
"[The sausage roll] needs to have a lot of fat, it needs to be seasoned right, it needs to be baked well, and overall, the taste needs to be perfect," one of the judges said.
On what makes a bad sausage roll, judge Bree Scott said "you definitely don't want it to be burnt, and you definitely don't want soggy pastry — I'm not looking for that!"
This is the second time the competition has been held, with Patrick Lam of Patrick's Pies taking out first place in 2021.
Entrants are required to bake three sausage rolls, which must contain beef, pork or lamb. Vegetables and extras can be added to the filling, but all three must be identical. Bakers can use flaky or puff pastry.
The gold place winner will receive $1500 in prize money and a display trophy, with silver taking home $750 and bronze netting $500. All winners, including highly commended, will receive a framed certificate.
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