Last month we hosted a star-studded party with world famous chef Gordon Ramsay to celebrate our eighth issue. The Chef’s Special edition, guest edited by Ramsay launched in January.

Inspired by the infamous meme he created on the Late Late Show with James Corden, and shot in the kitchen of his Los Angeles home by Brian Bowen Smith, the special edition Sandwich cover sees Gordon Ramsay ‘Idiot Sandwiching’ himself for the first time in print.

The magazine’s Chef’s Special theme takes a deep dive into Gordon’s relationship with meme culture, how cheffing has changed since he started out, and how his love of sandwiches has led to his new ‘Idiot Sandwich’ show. Gordon asked the world’s leading chefs, including Thomas Keller, Paul Ainsworth, Christina Tosi and Grant Achatz, what sandwiches they make in their break while at work. The issue also features classically trained chef and social media star Olivia Tiedemann’s first print interview and photoshoot.

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The partnership between Gordon Ramsay and Sandwich promoted his new food show, ‘Idiot Sandwich’, an all-new sandwich competition series hosted by Ramsay himself and inspired by his wildly popular meme. Featuring an array of social media creators such as Albert Can Cook, Owen Han, Sydney Morgan and more, each episode sees three contestants go head to head to create a sandwich they think will take the internet by storm, in just 20 minutes – with the added pressure of being judged by Gordon.

At the event, held at Gordon’s Pizza East restaurant Ramsay launched his very own Idiot Sandwich to a packed out house of some of London’s best culinary creatives. Showtime Photo Booth was in attendance capturing the fun with their Open Air Photo Booth. 

Ramsay’s Idiot Sandwich, which is being sold at the chef’s Bread Street Kitchen restaurant was our Sandwich of the Week, featuring braised short rib, melted cheddar, confit mushrooms and spiced tomato chutney. The sandwich was served to guests at the launch event including Real Housewives star Lisa Vanderpump. Photographer Ellie Ramsden was present to snap all the action.

A woman sits at the back of a packed meeting room in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In front of her, the love of her life - the man who broke her heart - has returned.

He’s different now. A new beard. A new job. A shock promotion to corporate that no-one saw coming. His new initiative - a website to streamline the company's sales, has hit some teething problems and the room is angry. In amongst the roar she steels herself before cutting in above the din.

He singles her out, “Yes Kelly, do you have a question?”

“Yeah I have many questions, firstly how dare you, “She replies without missing a beat. 

Across the country, in Pawnee, Indiana and Parks Director Ron Swanson has just turned down a job as deputy city manager. From nowhere Jean Ralphio appears - his manelike barnet glistening as he pronounces he’s ready to take on the role exclaiming, “Who’s got two thumbs and just got cleared of insurance fraud?” before proudly pointing to himself. It’s the job of city manager Chris Tregar to turn him down in a move Ralphio declares to be “smart”.

We’re on Barry Island, Wales now and Dorris is being hounded about salad. She’s had enough and turns to Bryn who joins the chorus of demands shouting “Where’s the salad? There’s the salad!” as she flips him off.

In New York, Janice’s OH MY GAWD echoes out across time. In a high school Gymnasium in suburban Chicago a disguised Damien shouts “She doesn’t even go here” above the heads of the young women gathered to do trust exercises. In the Scottish highlands three witches gather to spit the sickest verse of the 11th Century with the enduring ‘double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble’.

Throughout all of history there have been side characters. Those whose stories are, perhaps, subsidiary to the plot, but who are vital to it in one way or another. Whether it’s Kelly Kapoor’s acerbic one liners in the Office US, Jean Ralphio’s perfect parody of rich boy entitlement in Parks and Rec, Gavin and Stacey’s Dorris as the quintessential working class Grandma side characters have long stolen the show.

It’s why this winter, chicken chain Nandos is inviting food lovers across the UK and Ireland to embrace their 'side character energy'. Garlic Bread's no longer the supporting act - it's the star, in the new Garlic Churrasco Burger. With two flame-grilled chicken thighs, pickled red onions, mixed salad leaves and all-new Smoky Churrasco PERinaise all served in the ultimate burger bun... Nando’s Garlic Bread. Laced with a hint of warming chilli the bread, which see’s garlic butter smeared onto fluffy ciabatta rolls before being toasted over the grill makes a natural transition to the centre stage.

Brave New Sandwich was a series we started to celebrate the pioneers. The free thinkers. The radicals and the daredevils. The people who have innovated and created a bold, new culinary path for sandwiches - whether through radical ingredient combinations or fundamental restructuring of what it is that we understand to be a sandwich.

The use of garlic bread as the sandwichy bookends is exactly the kind of innovation this series was created to celebrate. A gastronomic revolution so obvious, it’s hard to believe none of us thought about it until now.

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]]>Brave New Sandwich: The Side Character SandwichSeriesTCO LondonMon, 11 Dec 2023 16:34:00 +0000https://www.sandwichmagazine.com/sides/whatswrongwithyou654e0b9a6858c779468ecced:654e0ba36858c779468ecee0:65773a14952d0649fe8a3aecWords by Ben Smoke
Illustration by Kay Ogundimu

Greater men than I have lost their minds contemplating the condition of humanity.

To understanding the complex web of experiences, thoughts and feelings that pull tight around each of us with such intense brightness that it burns into sentience. I think we as humans are predestined to wrestle with the overwhelming urge to understand ourselves and the impulse to distract ourselves from that very quest because, deep down, we know life and all that that entails, is far more complex than any of us could ever possibly imagine.

It’s why we search out vehicles and mediums to understand ourselves. Safe little methods or spaces to question and pull threads that won’t unravel the entirety of life’s rich tapestry. I believe that the humble sandwich is one of those mediums. As such, you can tell a lot about a person by what they chose to do in between two slices of bread - or more, who am I to judge?

For some it’s a bready uterine paradise within which familiar flavours, textures and ideas come together to form something reliable and constant in an ever changing world. For others, it’s a safe place to push the boundaries of culinary and indeed human exploration. The sandwich is the site of gastronomic adventure. What people choose to do with it can range from the pioneering to the outright feral.

It’s here, within that great experiment, that we draw inspiration for our new series Brave New Sandwich. Ranging from savage sandwiches so sinful they deserve only to be consumed alone, shrouded in darkness, to epicurean innovation so indulgent it’ll stop you in your tracks – this series celebrates the cutting edge of cuisine. Speaking of the former, our inaugural episode focuses on a concoction by our print editor Josh Jones. It’s a hangover creation so feral it had Sandwich 7 cover star Benny Blanco asking “What is wrong with you?”

It’s the saying: “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should”, but in food form. This Brave New Sandwich starts with a piece of bread (“seeded for health”). Next comes a giant dollop of cream cheese - so far, so normal.

We shot  this premiere episode as Josh was in LA on a very exciting shoot for the next issue of Sandwich magazine (!!). With eight hours of time difference between us, our hero was not easily reachable for clarifying questions on the construction of his own Frankenstein's monster. It’s within this context that we decided what must surely come next was lettuce – shredded of course. We added sweetcorn, Salt Bae style, and on top came some sausages. A healthy squirt of mayonnaise on top (oh, matron) and we were on track for a nice sausage sandwich! A fun twist on a classic! It’s here where the wheels start to come off.

A bag of crisps – prawn cocktail to be very specific – are crunched and added before a top slice, smeared with, for some reason peanut butter?? comes slamming down.

Upon Josh’s return to Sandwich HQ, I proudly showed him what we’d created in his honour with all the aplomb and ceremony of a cat dragging a half eaten mouse into the front room as a present. Chuffed as he was at the mutilated vermin we’d created in his honour, he informed me that our layering was off. The original did not see a flash of iceberg dropped onto the cream cheese as in our rendition but instead a smudge of peanut butter - crunchy - smeared atop it like some faecal pollockian nightmare. This, I am told, makes all the difference, though I remain unpersuaded.

I’m an open minded man of the world. I’ve spent more time than I’d care to admit in east London basements doing things to bring shame on the good name Smoke and yet, even I baulked somewhat at putting this thing in my mouth.

After much hesitance I pushed through my disgust, in the name of Journalism. A hectic combination of tastes, textures and intentions met my taste buds as I bit into the Sandwich. It was complex. Challenging. On the cusp of something great. And yet, I’m sorry to report that fundamentally, it was foul. The erratic mix of flavours and traditions worked against one another as any crunch it might have once had was dissipated by far, far too much wet stuff. The lack of structural support meant the cream cheese, peanut butter and mayo combination (why?) quickly overwhelmed the sandwich, turning it into a mushy, disparate slog.

Many of the great innovators were derided in their lifetimes. True genius, it is often said, is never truly recognised in real time. Maybe this sandwich is that. Maybe one day, sandwich scholars will look back on this piece with scorn. Perhaps history will mock me for my closed-mindedness. For my lack of vision. As I slowly masticated, I felt confident that I chewed on the right side of history. That any, and all, of right mind individuals would see this as the desperate, hungover cry for help that I think it represents.

This series is here to celebrate the bravery to push the boundaries of the sandwich in any and all forms. It is on that basis that we must applaud Josh’s ingenuity. His chutzpah. His audacity. Though his sandwich failed the basic standards of edibility, perhaps it will be the launchpad for the next generation of innovators to create the next, great Sandwich.

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]]>Brave New Sandwich: The ‘what is wrong with you’ sandwichReviewsTCO LondonMon, 04 Dec 2023 12:08:22 +0000https://www.sandwichmagazine.com/sides/the-sproutwich654e0b9a6858c779468ecced:654e0ba36858c779468ecee0:656dc136841c0535fdc89bc8Words by Ben Smoke
Illustration by Kay Ogundimu

Our digital editor gets his mouth around evil in sandwich form, and is surprised by what he finds.

I spent my formative years bouncing around Church of England and Catholic educational facilities (though that’s a story for another sandwich). We were taught about the unequivocal existence of good and evil. Of right and wrong. The light and the dark. For me, that spiritual determinism, if you will, has a very definitive ecclesiastical shade to it. The light of the lord is infinite, my teachers would tell me, blocked only by the horned shadow of Lucifer. It is here, in Asmodeun darkness, that the devil's playthings are dreamt up.

It is within the context of this unnecessarily complicated theological tapestry that we must arrive at the notion of Deliveroo’s Christmas Sproutwich.

The Brussels Sprout is widely, and correctly, derided. According to a survey by Onepoll 51% of people think sprouts are  the worst part of the traditional festive meal - the other 49% clearly did not understand the question. 35% of those surveyed say they actively hate sprouts (with 31% of respondents - clearly perverts - allegedly ‘loving’ them). Approximately 1.5 million Brits claim to have a phobia of them.

The existence then, of a sprout themed - nay, a sprout led sandwich - must surely be the work of Beelzebub. Of course, this confection, manufactured by a collection of people who have not allowed the gospel of the lord and saviour Jesus Christ into their hearts, is a molten form of evil. A product of darkness. An inherent wrong.

And yet…

“My tastebuds were overwhelmed by the cold, gelatinous chicken gravy that coated them – like a frozen hen had sneezed in my mouth.”

On a cold November lunchtime last week I found myself striding up and down the streets outside Sandwich HQ, phone in hand, and quickly firing off texts to person set to deliver this abomination. “Just coming down now”, “Can’t see you?”, “Oh you mean on the corner?” Eventually completing the world’s worst pick up, I took the steps back up to the office two at a time, clutching three boxes of the goods.

The Christmas Sproutwich, consists of six different sprout-infused ingredients. A green sprout infused focaccia, garlic sprout mayo, sprout stuffing, roasted sprout halves, sprout shavings and sprout leaves. Throw in some maple bacon, Emmental cheese and a side of Chicken Gravy and there you have it. The devil’s spawn.

I haphazardly unwrapped the sandwich with one hand as I tried to film an unboxing video at the same time (which is much harder than it looks). Before long, it sat before me in all its salacious, sinful glory. I threw the gravy over the Sandwich – in these situations one must go all in – brought it up to my mouth and took a bite.

There is an argument to be made that I should have potentially read the packaging – particularly the section on needing to heat up the gravy prior to administering it. My first run at the Sandwich was marred by this error. My tastebuds were overwhelmed by the cold, gelatinous chicken gravy that coated them – like a frozen hen had sneezed in my mouth.

As I masticated through the pain (whomst amongst us!) I realised my error and took the abomination to the microwave.

I said at the beginning of this vital piece of service journalism that I spent much of my childhood being instilled with the virtue of definitive good and bad. Some things are right, some things are wrong – there’s little to no in between. As I’ve grown up, I’m sure like many of us, I’ve come to know the infinite shades of the in between. The grey area where we live most of our lives. I came to this sandwich forgetting that reality. In many ways, the guttural revulsion I feel towards sprouts transported me back to that simpler time, when right was right, and wrong was wrong, and the only thing to worry about was my mum not letting me get down from the table until I’d finished these green spheres of festive malevolence..

As my mouth opened around a second bite of the Sproutwich, now steaming with newly applied microwave heat, I was jerked back to the present. The sprout focaccia bounced against my teeth as I bit down. With every chew, a new delicious flavour presented itself. The smokiness of the bacon balancing out the bittered roast sprouts, the nutty butteriness of the emmental wrapping it all up in a warm, nostalgic parcel.

The Sproutwich is a perverse triumph. Each bite a festive present from the past - if every Christmas you’d ever had was a hallmark one. The rich balance of seasonal flavours transformed the sprout from feral, bushy eyebrowed outlier to the belle of the Christmas ball. The takeaway this winter season it transpires, is that nothing is as it seems, evil does not exist and sprouts are good now.

So with that in mind, if you’re looking for something to get you through this first week of festive fervour, as you dream of morning baileys and afternoon naps in front of the TV, there’s little better to get you in the mood, and satiate your hunger than the Sproutwich.

Merry Christmas!

The Christmas Sproutwich is available to order from Deliveroo Editions in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Bristol from 6th to 8th December for 99p.

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Ice-cream with potato chips? Why not? Our Strawberry Ice-Cream episode is anything but conventional, in this episode Mason teams up with New Orleans food and drag royalty Poppy Tooker to create an ice-cream sandwich that defies all the rules.

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“That’s New Orleans, baby” Mason joins chef Gabrielle Batiste to see how a NOLA original, The King Cake, can be used to create a totally unique chocolate ice cream sandwich that celebrates the city’s Mardi Gras roots.

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Mason teams up with cocktail and Black History expert Deniseea Taylor, founder of Chicken and Champagne, at legendary New Orleans Jazz Bar Mother in Law’s lounge to turn a NOLA classic, the daiquiri, into a mint ice cream classic.

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New Orleans is home to good times, great people... and even better sandwiches.

When it’s not partying during Mardi Gras or dancing to jazz, it’s a city that chows down on signature po’ boys and behemoth muffulettas. But for two days in the clammy heat of May, NOLA’s taste buds were treated to the most bizarre, delicious ice cream sandwiches, all provided courtesy of Oatly.

When Sandwich Magazine landed in The Big Easy, it picked up a beautiful, tricked-out ice cream truck and drove straight round to the house of chef — and sandwich connoisseur — Mason Hereford. Founder of world-renowned sandwich shop Turkey and the Wolf, Mason was given the mission of taking Sandwich and Oatly on a tour of his hometown, meeting his foodie friends, and asking them to invent unique ice cream sandwiches inspired by the city (and made with Oatly).

After loading ourselves into the passenger seat, Mason jumped behind the wheel and drove us to meet mixologist Deniseea Taylor, chef Gabrielle Batiste, and drag innovator Poppy Tooker. And they got to work. From daiquiri-influenced, mint- chocolate creations to concoctions featuring potato chips sprinkled onto matcha cookies, each ice cream sandwich took on a life of its own, with every layer representing the golden rules of life in New Orleans... make it fun and make it memorable.

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For Summer 2023 Sandwich partnered with Oatly! to create a unique world around the Ice-Cream Sandwich. An optimistic, fun and cheerful issue exploring Ice Cream highs, featuring Benny Blanco on the cover and a special Oatly Branded Content Series.

Our Sandwich magazine launch in London and Amsterdam, presented in partnership with Oatly! to make it all sweeter, truly took the cake – or rather, the ice cream!

Our team worked tirelessly to create an atmosphere that was as vibrant and exciting as the content within our magazines. Two iconic cities, London and Amsterdam, as the backdrop for these unforgettable gatherings. The stage was set, and we were ready to share our passion for storytelling and creativity.

Music has a unique ability to unite and uplift, and our DJ sets did just that. We curated a lineup of local talent that ranged from soulful acoustic melodies to high-energy beats with Pato from Hidden Sounds in London and Boj Tieman in Amsterdam.

Our events were all about indulgence – both for the mind and the palate. Attendees were greeted with the sweet aroma of freshly churned ice cream, generously offered by Oatly!. As the sun dipped below the city skylines, guests savoured their favorite flavours, mingling and sharing stories over complimentary ice-cold beers and cocktails.

Of course, the star of the evenings was our freshly minted magazine. As guests flipped through the pages, they discovered stories, art, and ideas that captivated their minds. Even if you couldn't attend, you can still explore the pages.

Both events exceeded all expectations. They were a celebration of creativity, a testament to the power of community, and a showcase of the boundless possibilities when culture, art and food collide. We were humbled by the enthusiastic response from our attendees, who embraced our mission to foster creativity and connection.

They were more than just gatherings; they were a celebration of the vibrant and diverse communities that make our cities so special. We look forward to continuing this journey, telling stories that matter, and creating moments that bring people together. Check out the new Sandwich x Oatly 'Brain Freeze' video Series here, and pick up your own copy of Sandwich Magazine here.

About Oatly

We are the world's first and largest oatly beverage company. For over 25 years, we have focused exclusively on developing our expertise around oats: a global power crop with inherent properties that are both sustainable and healthy for humanity. Our dedication to oats has resulted in significant technical developments that have enabled us to match the breadth of the dairy portfolio, including alternatives to milk, ice cream, yogurt, cooking cream and spreads. For more information visit www.oatly.com.

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Last week saw us celebrate the launch of our Brisket Issue at East London’s fantastic Snackbar. They provided us with the best brisket sandwiches, Ardbeg brought the cocktails with their delicious, smoky whisky and DJ BBQ soundtracked the evening with a DJ set (as well as signing copies of the magazine). Big thanks to everyone who came along.

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Ardbeg sent DJ BBQ out into the wild to search for pioneers of the grill for their new video series, Bizarre-BQ.

He found people who are as passionate about smoky deliciousness as he is — or, in his own words, the kind of people that have got smoke in their blood, fire in their veins and bathe in hot sauce…” Watch him get primal with their unique brand of live fire cooking while mixing it up with the smoky tones of an Ardbeg whisky cocktail.

Brisket Biryani in Buffalo

The first stop on our peat-smoked pilgrimage finds us meeting Ryan Fernandez, owner of Southern Junction. He’s a barbecue legend, born in Kerala, India, raised in Texas and now living and grilling in Buffalo, New York. He’s famed for his unique combinations of Texas barbecue with South Indian flavours — something he’s named Tex-ish!

Even though he’s set up shop in one of the coldest parts of the United States, his enormous smoker is built for Buffalo, “I’ve had two feet of snow around this thing,” he says. “Just a little fire and I’m chugging along at 250 in there.” Ryan’s take on Texan barbecue is inspired by his grandma and mum and he’s been cooking his version for nearly a decade, learning the recipe from his sister, Raisa. “It’s Texas-style barbecue with a little bit of South Indian flair. Right here in Buffalo, New York. I think I’m the only one around these parts doing that. The one that’s been going like crazy is our brisket biryani. It’s Texas-style brisket. And then it goes on a biryani rice. I didn’t think anyone would ever want spicy curry with brisket — that I’d get run out of town for doing that. Next thing you know, people are asking me to combine more of these Indian flavours.”

An Alternative Take in Atlanta

Next up on the barbecue tour, it’s beef… but not as you know it. We head to the Peach State for an alternative take on the holy grail of barbecue: the brisket. We hooked up with Terry Sargent — one of the top five vegan pitmasters in the world. He’s owner of the Grass VBQ Joint, a place that prides itself on using local ingredients that provide full flavour. His mock meats are made in house and cold smoked for five hours with Terry’s signature blend of Georgia hickory, maple, and cherry wood. “We sell out every night of the week,” he says of his faux-meat dishes. For the Bizarre-BQ series, Terry cooked DJ BBQ one of his incredible (and patented) veef briskets. Creating a dough out of vital wheat gluten, a top secret veef stock mix and beetroot powder for colour, he actually cooks it before taking it to the smoker. “I don’t do this for the vegans,” says Terry. “I do this for the non-vegans. I want them to understand that vegan food can actually taste good.”

Sam and Shauna Share Smoky Secrets

The third stop on the smoky safari takes us to the windswept Gower Peninsula in Wales to meet Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn. Self-proclaimed ladies of barbecue, they’ve taken barbecuing to the next level with a uniquely bred lamb found on the local salt marshes. They’ve been cooking this incredible Welsh delicacy, sprinkled with some Kentucky-style flair on one of the craziest contraptions ever — a grill that takes at least two people to flip. After quitting their jobs to go on an epic road trip across America’s South, their voyage of barbecue discovery led them to realise that pit mistresses are a bit like the salt marsh lamb, a rare breed. They’re paving the way to show women that cooking with fire is not just men’s work. You just need to roll your sleeves up, get a sharp knife, light a fire and start barbecuing. Using their giant, flippable grill, they’re showing the world the delights of cooking the salt marsh lamb. Because it grazes on sea purslane and salty samphire, the meat is almost pre-seasoned and tastes sweeter. “The thing with barbecue,” says Sam, “is it’s hot, it’s heavy. It’s hard work. And I think if you’re dedicated to it, it’s a lot of fun. What we’d love to do is encourage more women to pick up the tongs, get behind the flames and do it. If we can do it, anybody can.”

To view the series, click here.

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