Peake’s Kitchen food-truck at the Papatowai Country Store was declared Burger Nation’s "Supreme Winner" this week, after a nationwide hunt for the tastiest burger.
Tom and Nicole Peake’s special secret?
A simple "blend of the best".
"The Peakes’ beef-burger set out to be the classic American cheeseburger, transformed with a Kiwi touch," chef Tom Peake said.
"The Kiwi touch is to replicate a familiar flavour using high-quality, locally-sourced ingredients in a nutrient-dense, real-meal."
Quick to the plate, the Peake Burger presents home-ground patties and tasty double cheddar in a tower that resolves to big-bite size under fingertip pressure.
"The patties are made right here using two cuts of Southland Hereford, a traditional burger cut and a special steak cut," Mr Peake said.
"It’s in a Japanese milk-bun, baked in Dunedin, which we figured out with the help of the chef I finished my apprenticeship with."
To the buttered bun, branded indelibly Kiwi with a slice of beetroot home-pickled in Otago pinot noir, the Christchurch-born chef adds an array of condiments, relish and three kinds of mustard to deliver a flavour burst that better-known brands might only achieve with an army of food scientists.
"We are very pleased to be recognised as supreme winner," co-chef and Country Store owner Nicole Peake said.
"The Peake Burger is all very quick and simple now, but every part of it was carefully thought through for the best look, taste and quality.
"A huge thanks to our team of five and all our customers, local and travelling who took the time to vote for us . . . The [Burger Nation] organisers made it really easy to vote, and everybody telling us how much they enjoyed their burger made it really easy for us to tell them they could vote for us if they wanted."
More than 100,000 burgers were eaten in New Zealand during the month-long competition.
In that time, Peake’s Kitchen Papatowai food-truck sold 640 burgers to tally 591 votes, far more than any received for burgers in big cities including Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
