Cheese rolls: How a humble snack became a signature New Zealand food

A cheese roll may seem simple: it's basically a slice of bread with cheese-based filling, rolled up and toasted until slightly crispy. Yet they hold a special place in the hearts of many people at the bottom of the New Zealand's South Island.

Wellington, New Zealand (CNN) — A cheese roll may seem simple: it's basically a slice of bread with cheese-based filling, rolled up and toasted until slightly crispy. Yet these humble snacks hold a special place in the hearts of many people at the bottom of the South Island, the more southern of New Zealand's two main islands -- or "Deep South," as the region closer to Antarctica than the Equator is sometimes called. Margaret Peck remembers her first cheese roll. She was a teenager at the beach near Invercargill, almost at the end of the South Island and New Zealand's southernmost city -- it's also home to the world's southernmost Starbucks and McDonald's outlets.