Levin sausage rolls missing from Bakels competition

The winner of the Bakels sausage roll competition will be announced on October 27.

Levin might be world famous for the size of its sausage rolls, but local producers of the delicacy are noticeable absentees from a national competition.

Of the more than 400 entries in the Bakels Legendary Sausage Roll competition, not one was from the district of Horowhenua, the unofficial home of the sausage roll.

The town’s sausage rolls were the subject of a flippant television news story that aired recently on Seven Sharp which drew attention to the large width and length of the average sausage roll produced locally.

Sponge Kitchen owner David Hall said he was aware of the competition and had planned to enter but had simply missed the cut-off date. But he wasn’t too worried. He believed Levin’s sausage roll reputation was entrenched.

Hall said he sells a large volume of sausage rolls to out-of-town customers who stop specifically to buy a sausage roll. They sell “hundreds” of their normal sausage rolls each day, and usually a few dozen gourmet sausage rolls.

Sponge Kitchen owner David Hall with a sausage roll.

Often, they have to bake an extra batch to meet demand.

“We sold out today,” he said.

Lui Gundersen from Annie’s Bakery in Levin has been making sausage rolls for almost 10 years, and they’re a big seller. He said he knew about the competition but hadn’t bothered entering.

‘It’s a bit of a gimmick,” he said.

It was the second time the competition had been held. Anyone who made sausage rolls commercially could enter. The inaugural winner in 2021, among 607 entries, was from Tauranga.

Entrants are required to bake three sausage rolls with an individual maximum length of 120 millimetres and a total weight not exceeding 480 grams. The sausage filling had to contain beef, pork or lamb. Vegetables could be added to the filling.

Judging is to take place on October 26 in Christchurch. The winner will be announced on October 27.

Sausage rolls have been around since the early 19th century in the United Kingdom and were first mentioned in the media in 1809. In the UK, the most popular sausage roll recipe uses only pork sausage meat as a filling, not beef or lamb mincemeat.

There have been successful music releases in the UK where artists have swapped out the phrase “rock’n’roll” in some famous songs with “sausage roll”.

It has resulted in the rewording of hits to make songs like I Love Sausage Rolls and We Built This City On Sausage Rolls.

Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.