What happens when you put Kiwi onion dip and ready salted chips in a sandwich?

For Mount Maunganui’s Kaiden Ross, it was a recipe to impress celebrity Kiwi chef Al Brown, who chose her creation as one of five finalists in the Freya’s Great Kiwi Sandwich Search.

The competition is designed to find New Zealand’s best homemade sandwich.

The winner receives $5000, a year’s supply of Freya’s bread and will have their sandwich recreated and sold at Brown’s Federal Delicatessen in Auckland for a month.

Ross, a self-described “homebody” who works in administration, never expected her lunch creation would put her in the running for national sandwich glory.

“I pretty much have a sandwich every day for lunch at home, so I was shocked to be a finalist, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think maybe it could win.”

Ross’ Relish the Crunch Triple Decker sandwich has three pieces of bread and two layers of fillings including pastrami, Dijon mustard, Swiss cheese, crisp slaw, beetroot chutney and the ultimate Kiwi ingredients – Kiwi onion dip and ready salted chips.

“It’s fresh, it’s exciting and it’s so satisfying to eat,” Ross said.

She came across the competition when she heard Brown “passionately” discuss it on the radio.

It got her thinking about how she could “elevate a sandwich”.

“That kind of inspired me to do it, I wanted to get creative and design a sandwich that I would actually really love to eat.

Al Brown's recreation of The Relish the Crunch Triple Decker sandwich.

“I had to put my thinking cap on and come up with some good ideas.”

She was inspired to combine a mainstay of the “classic Kiwi summer picnic” – chips and dip – and the “most incredible” pastrami sandwiches she tasted while travelling in the United States.

“It had every flavour profile that I wanted, the sweet from the beetroot chutney, the salty from the pastrami, crunch from the potato, the savoury richness from the Swiss cheese, the dip was really creamy and the slaw gave it just a bit of freshness – I knew that was a winner.”

She said to really give it the “Kiwi picnic vibe”, the dip had to be used in its original form.

“You can’t buy a pre-made container of it; it’s not the same. You have to do it properly with the onion soup packet and the reduced cream.

“I also used the Freya’s low-carb soy and linseed, that’s my favourite because you feel quite good eating low carb, and then you can just chuck the chips in and not feel so guilty.”

Ross said she was “really proud” of the final product.

The Relish the Crunch Triple Decker sandwich is one of five finalists selected by Al Brown in the Freya’s Great Kiwi Sandwich Search.

“I’m overwhelmed and excited, nervous, but am just dreaming of the possibility that the sandwich could be the winner.”

Ross’ sandwich is one of five finalists selected by Brown.

He said he was really impressed by how it gave a classic deli-style combination a distinctly “Kiwi twist”.

“There’s plenty going on across the layers, from the savoury pastrami and Swiss cheese to the sweet beetroot chutney, fresh slaw and unexpected crunch of potato chips.”

He said it was bold, generous and satisfying.

“Exactly what you want from a sandwich.”

Ross is the only finalist from outside Auckland or Wellington.

The winner will be chosen by public vote. Voting is open on the Freya’s website and closes October 11.

is a journalist for the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post. She has lived in the region for several years and studied journalism at Massey University.