Lords of Toastie hospitality

Emma Faith and Taylor Hamilton, co-owners of Toastie Lords in Picton, have been acknowledged as two of the country’s most influential hospitality figures in 2025.

Emma brought home the Hospitality Industry Leader of the Year, while Taylor won Hospitality Future Leader of the Year at the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence in Wellington on June 11.

Taylor says they were in “disbelief” by the wins despite believing in the power of the humble toastie and wanted to thank everyone who has come in for a toastie over the past four years for their support.

“We wanted to bring a convenient, accessible and yet quality offering to the town, so picked one thing and made it our mission to do it well and I feel like people really appreciate that, especially when our offering is such a well-loved Kiwi classic,” she says.

“Customers are often saying to us “how has nobody thought of doing this until now” regarding a designated toastie shop so we certainly feel like the public understand our vision and agree there’s a space for it in the market.”

Taylor says she believes the hands-on approach they’re taking to Toastie Lords shows people the hospitality industry is much more than a starter job, which helped them be recognised last Wednesday.

“We haven’t yet received any feedback about specifically why we won, but I do know that our nominations revolved around our shared passion for inspiring young people to work in the hospitality industry.

“Emma and I really believe in leading by example so that means not just working ‘on’ the business but actively working ‘in’ it alongside our team.”

And while the duo are feeding fans, creating merchandise, hosting run clubs and looking for franchise partners, Taylor says that the wider goals of the Toastie Lords brand doesn’t change.

“From the get-go we knew we didn’t just want to sell sandwiches, but instead create a brand that would create community and bring people together,” she says,
“We’re currently in conversations with people that have shown interest in bringing Toastie Lords to their town, but it’s important we’re working with people who share the same strong passion for hospitality and understand our vision for the future of Toastie Lords.

“There’s still a stigma attached to working in hospitality, with many people only looking at it as a ‘stepping stone’ or not a ‘real job’ - our mission is to show young people that you can go so far in this industry and make such a successful career for yourself in food and beverage.”