Observer critic Jay Rayner leads disowning of ‘monstrosity’, leaving New Zealanders to take credit for ‘ultimate comfort food’

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

New Zealand has claimed the “abomination” and “monstrosity” that is mince on toast, after an American food website sparked uproar in the UK when it claimed the dish was a classic of British cuisine.

Eater.com posted a video featuring the dish on Twitter on Monday, saying: “Mince meat on toast is a quintessential British comfort classic.”

There was an immediate backlash on social media, with most Britons claiming they had never heard of it, let alone tried it.

The Observer restaurant critic Jay Rayner tweeted:

Jay Rayner (@jayrayner1) For god sake @eater what are you on? Apart from mince on toast, something I have never eaten. https://t.co/1zfJTI18uG

Musician Neil Claxton tweeted:

Neil Claxton (@MintRoyale) Never ever ever ever ever, ever ever in a month of Sundays ever ever has anyone in Britain eaten this mess.

TV cook Nigella Lawson added her voice to the debate:

In New Zealand, mince on toast is a common meal. The staple has even started to infiltrate brunch menus at upmarket cafes, where it can command NZ$15 (£8.50) and above.



“It is something that has been around for ever. We had it as children and I would say generations of people on farms have eaten it,” said Helen Jackson, a food writer and former food editor at the New Zealand Women’s Weekly magazine.



“It is an absolute rural classic. Rural people used to have meat for pretty much three meals a day and you could heat up leftover mince for lunch or Sunday night dinner with buttered toast.

“And we’d make mince and cheese toasted sandwiches as well.”

Jackson says modern versions of mince and toast tend to “jazz it up a little”, by adding a poached egg on top, BBQ sauce, grated cheese or sour cream.

“I absolutely love it and I encourage my kids to have it now. It is the ultimate comfort food and it is delicious, and I think we should keep it going,” she said.

Anthony Bentley, owner of the Akaroa cooking school in the South Island, said it had never occurred to him that mince and toast was a unique national dish, but he had never eaten or seen it anywhere else in the world.



“Mince on toast tends to be a leftover dish that you’d eat for breakfast or lunch the next day if you’d had a shepherd’s pie or lasagne base. Mince is always nicer the next day, it amalgamates the flavours,” Bentley said.

This is not just mince on toast – it’s modern Britain on a plate | Jack Bernhardt Read more

“That is the usual way Kiwis have it; it would not be that common as a meal you’d start from scratch. The recipes of old school are popping up on modern menus these days, which is great because it is such a classic, and is making quite a comeback in trendy Auckland cafes and the like.”

Most recipes call for the mince to be slightly thick in consistency, or else it can be difficult to eat and can soak through the bread. Thick, sturdy loaves such as sourdough work best.

“I haven’t seen it anywhere else in the world,” Jackson said. “I hadn’t really thought about people not eating it anywhere else because to me, why wouldn’t you? To me it is a logical and delicious thing to do.”

Helen Leach, emeritus professor at the University of Otago says the earliest recipes for mince on toast date to 1865 – in England.

New Zealand recipes for the dish appeared in Christchurch in 1924 in Miss Mildred Trent’s The Up-to-date Cook’s Book, published in London in 1914, and a 1952 cookbook published in New Zealand.



“This recipe would have been considered suitable as an entree, or for lunch or supper,” said Leach, who used to eat mince on toast for lunch or Sunday tea.

“Miss Trent held a first-class diploma from the Edinburgh School of Cookery, so the recipe may well have been one she was familiar with there.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Buttered toast is optional. Photograph: Tony Robins/Getty Images

Mince on toast

Serves 1

1 cup country-style mince (see below)

Dash of Worcestershire sauce

2 thick slices bread

¼ cup grated tasty cheddar cheese

Heat the mince in a small saucepan and add Worcestershire sauce to taste.

Toast the bread until golden and butter if you like.

Place the toast on a dinner plate, spoon over the mince and sprinkle with grated cheese.

Country-style mince

750g prime beef mince

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

3 cups beef stock

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Heat a large frying pan and brown mince in batches; transfer to a large saucepan once it is well browned.

Heat olive oil in the frying pan and gently cook onions, carrots, celery and garlic for 10-15 minutes until the onions are tender.

Transfer vegetables to the saucepan and add stock and tomato paste. If using a good quality stock you will need to add salt, whereas commercial stocks are often salty so if using them wait to taste before seasoning.

Bring to the boil and simmer for two hours, topping up with a little water if needed.

Rub butter into flour until you get a smooth ball – you may need to add a little more flour if it is sticky. Gradually add small balls of mixture into the mince and allow to dissolve and thicken the mince. Once you get to the desired thickness of sauce then you won’t need to add any more.

Simmer for a further 15 minutes to cook the flour and then remove from the heat. Once cool, refrigerate until cold.