Deep fried cheese rolls a hit
Deep fried cheese rolls are delighting the taste buds of Southlanders.
News this week of a Dunedin takeaway bar introducing and selling out of deep fried cheese rolls prompted H&J Smith’s food and beverage manager Karl Robinson to make the snack available to customers.
Customers Nicola White and Judy Anderson added a deep fried cheese roll to their lunch at H&J Smith’s Copper Kettle Restaurant in Invercargill yesterday.
‘‘It’s very tasty . . . the gooeyness [of the cheese] is really good,’’ White said.
Anderson said: ‘‘It’s way more filling [than the traditional cheese roll].’’
Robinson wasted no time in adding the deep fried version to the Copper Kettle’s menu after reading a Stuff story about the Dunedin takeaway bar selling out of them. ‘‘I said, we’ve definitely got to do this,’’ he said.
‘‘Everyone knows Southland is the cheese roll capital of New Zealand . . . it kills hunger.’’
Staff at the Copper Kettle covered the cheese rolls in batter and deep fried them in canola oil for three or four minutes.
Robinson said the heat from deep frying caused the cheese to be steamed.
Copper Kettle supervisor Veronica Chamberlain and kitchen supervisor Natalie Healy said cheese rolls were always a good seller and the deep fried version was an instant hit yesterday with customers.
‘‘They’ve been flying out the door,’’ Chamberlain said.
East Gore Takeaways owner Michael Vetters has been selling deep fried cheese rolls for 18 months.
They were popular at the start but now, about six are sold most weeks.
‘‘If it’s new, people get a buzz out of it and then it dies off,’’ Vetters said.