The first written usage of the English word appeared in Edward Gibbon’s journal, in longhand, referring to “bits of cold meat” as a “Sandwich”. It was named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, an 18th-century English aristocrat, although he was neither the inventor nor sustainers of the food. It is said that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread, and because Montagu also happened to be the Fourth Earl of Sandwich, others began to order “the same as Sandwich!” It is said that Lord Sandwich was fond of this form of food because it allowed him to continue playing cards, particularly cribbage, while eating without getting his cards greasy from eating meat with his bare hands.
The first recorded sandwich was by the famous rabbi, Hillel the Elder, who lived during the 1st century B.C. He started the Passover custom of sandwiching a mixture of chopped nuts, apples, spices, and wine between two matzohs to eat with bitter herbs. The filling between the matzohs served as a reminder of the suffering of the Jews before their deliverance from Egypt and represented the mortar used by the Jews in their forced labour of constructing Egyptian buildings. Because he was the first known person to do this, and because of his influence and stature in Palestinian Judaism, this practice was added to the Seder and the Hillel Sandwich was named after him.
People love me some meat between 2 pieces of bread, with extra cheese of course. We will crave those damn things. We do a post with a bunch of sandwiches, but why not see how to make the most expensive sandwiches in the world? Well really, just England. They know how to put the most expensive ingredients together to make that meat and bread a real decadent lunch.
Von Essen Platinum Club Sandwich $197.00
This sandwich is made from ham, poulet de Bresse, white truffles, quail eggs, semi-dried Italian tomatoes and 24-hour fermented sour dough bread, and weighs 530 grams. The extremely rare ham is air-cured for nearly 30 months and comes from a black-footed pig, with the poulet de Bresse being a well-known delicacy in its own right.
Berkshire, England by James Parkinson, the Executive Head Chef for the von Essen collection.
The MacDonald $170.00
The MacDonald consists of wagyu beef, fresh lobe foie gras, black-truffle mayonnaise, brie de Meaux, rocket (arugula), red pepper and mustard confit and English plum tomatoes and is served on a 24-hour fermented sour dough bread. London, England.
Cheese Sandwich $152.00
A Michelin-starred chef Martin Blunos, who hand-crafted the luxury snack using cheddar blended with expensive white truffles, slices of quail’s egg, heirloom black tomato, epicure apple, and fresh figs. It is dressed with 100-year-old balsamic vinegar and the sourdough bread – is sprinkled with edible gold dust. London, England.
