By 3 News online staff
Mairangi Bay café Paper Moon has been named the country's best in the inaugural NZ Café of the Year competition.
The North Shore seaside café, whose signature dish is Wattie's baked beans with pan-fried chorizo, onions, tomato relish in a toasted bagel, was deemed the best of 400 entries from across the country.
More than 24,000 members of the public voted in the first round of the competition, and the 15 top cafes were then visited by experts, who judged them on appearance, atmosphere, service, meals and the overall experience.
Chief judge Kerry Tyack says Paper Moon has "a comprehensively mouth-watering menu", in addition to a lively atmosphere and exceptional service. Their signature dish was "generous, innovative and down-right Kiwi. Definitely worth a visit just to try this dish."
Paper Moon also won the regional title for the upper North Island. The other regional winners, and their signature dishes, are as follows:
- Central North Island - Bosco Café, Te Kuiti. Hand-made hash browns, stacked with Kiwi middle bacon, a dob of homemade aioli and served with poached eggs and Boston beans on toasted Vogels;
- Lower North Island - Mcfarlanes Caffe, Inglewood, Taranaki. Wattie's baked beans removed from their traditional sauce and enveloped in the café’s own secret sauce, then napped atop a thick slice of locally made Vienna and dusted with chopped Kiwi streaky bacon;
- Upper South Island - ARTISAN by Rangiora Bakery, Rangiora. Bacon wrapped around beans on homemade potato hash, nestled on a bed of spinach then topped with a poached egg and hollandaise sauce, served with oven roasted tomatoes for breakfast and a side garnish of salad for lunch;
- Lower South Island - The Roost Café, Oamaru. Kumara pattie with a tasty salsa and bacon accompaniment.
Paper Moon's baked beans dish will feature on TV segment Food in a Minute later this month, and appear in supermarkets on recipe cards.
The competition was organised by the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.
3 News
source: newshub archive
