15 Aug 2022

Cheese Rolls with a Twist

From Lately, 10:40 pm on 15 August 2022

Southern sushi is rolling out of the oven at Invercargill's first all-vegan food truck.

Born-and-bred Southlander Chayse Leith – who runs Herbie Fully Vegan with his partner Jessinta – says there were some "serious stares from across the table" when he announced he was vegan two years ago.

"I grew up on a dairy farm milking the cows and it was only about two years ago that I made the change. It was pretty hard to come out to the family - it was a tough conversation over dinner," he tells Karyn Hay.

cheese rolls

Photo: Neha Khullar

Jessinta and Chayse Leith

Jessinta and Chayse Leith Photo: John Hawkins / Stuff

The dairy-free cheese rolls he and Jessinta make are similar to regular ones, Chayse says, but the cheesiness comes from nutritional yeast and butteriness from Olivani.

"It doesn't have the same pull-apart factor but all that cheesy flavour is there without the cheese factor.

"It's even got a bit of onion zang to it to keep that traditional Southland flavour."

Unlike Wanaka, Queenstown and Dunedin, fresh vegan food isn't easy to find in Invercargill, says Jessinta, who was persuaded by Chayse to become a vegan via Netflix documentaries.

The couple are surprised by how popular their creations are with Southlanders, and Chayse is glad to provide a traditional local snack to both vegans and people who are dairy-free.

"I guess we're in dairy country down here so every time we take dairy out of products we do get a bit of backlash. But in saying that we do get a lot of support."

The Leiths, who both have full-time jobs, bake everything in their home kitchen.

They sell their wares – which include cinnamon scrolls, custard slices, hazelnut brownies and (vegan) cheesecakes – every Sunday at the Ascot& Park Racecourse market.

Recipes from the RNZ collection:

Southern Cheese Rolls

Airspresso Southland's Cheese Roll

The New Zealand International Science Festival Ultimate Southern Cheese Roll