After tasting the 79 entries in the Science Festival's Ultimate Southern Cheese Roll competition last week, none of the judges wanted to see another cheese roll - or cheese or toast - for at least a week.
Four judges, Tony Heptinstall (hospitality programme manager at Otago Polytechnic), Damian Newell of More FM, Jason Moore from Mojo Cafe and myself, tasted our way through the rolls, expertly toasted by chefs at the polytechnic.
Some adventurous cooks had included other ingredients such as corn, pineapple, apple, curry, blue cheese, quince paste or cranberry.
However it was the classic rolls with cheese flavoured with mustard or onion or packet onion soup that worked best.
Some fillings were too oozy and dripped, making them messy to eat, while others did not have enough filling and were dry, despite the butter on top.
A few were made with wheatmeal bread which drew derision from some judges, but a couple of us liked the rolls made with really grainy bread.
Shapes varied too: a few were longer than usual, but some were much fatter and needed more cooking to heat through.
The winner, announced yesterday, was Joy Jones, of Robbies Bar and Bistro in South Dunedin.
