This week we are celebrating British Sandwich Week, so pull up a chair and enjoy a few of our favourite facts about this iconic culinary invention.

In the UK, a whopping 8.2 million sandwiches are purchased each year! Our favourite sandwich in the UK is a classic bacon sarnie, but traditional cheese comes in a close second. Across the pond, our American friends have peanut butter and jelly as their firm fave.

The sandwich is such a convenient meal for grab-and-go lunches, picnics and quick, simple suppers. It seems that a time saving snack was in the mind of the Earl of Sandwich back in the 1700s, when he invented this staple. Two conflicting stories in the history books point to the Earl either being at the gambling table, or at his desk as a man of politics. Not wanting to be distracted or disrupted by formal dining, he is said to have summoned servants to bring him meat between two slices of bread on so many an occasion, that his close companions begun to order ‘the same as Sandwich’. Hence the term was born.

From its humble beginnings the sandwich seems to have taken the world by storm. There’s even an annual Sandwich Designer of the Year competition, which this year saw a cauliflower cheese sandwich and a sweet pear bun crowned joint winners.

From one sandwich competition to another, in Iran an attempt to make the world’s biggest sandwich was cut short in 2008. The reason? The audience watching the attempt started eating the delicious delicacy before judging had even commenced!

If these facts have left you hungry for a sarnie, or desperate to try something a little different why not try our recipe for pickled cabbage? Perfect paired with thick granary bread and chunky sliced cheddar.

Or pop by our Sandwich Bar this week to enjoy our special menu chosen by our staff.

Sandwich Bar Specials Menu 19th – 26th May

Sunday 19^th May – Lorna’s Seafood Cocktail Sandwich with lettuce

Monday 20^th May – Roisin’s Cajun Chicken Sandwich with lettuce, cucumber, tomato, onion and mayonnaise

Tuesday 21^st May – Holly’s Tuna Crunch Sandwich with cucumber

Wednesday 22^nd May – Rachael’s Hot and Spicy Chicken Sandwich with cucumber and lettuce

Thursday 23^rd May – Pauline’s Three Cheese and Spring Onion Sandwich

Friday 24^th May – Kerry’s Ham Salad Sandwich

Saturday 25^th May – Brad’s Chicken, Bacon and Sweetcorn Sandwich with cucumber and cress

Sunday 26^th May – Becky’s BLT Sandwich with mayonnaise