National Sandwich Day
Two delicious slices of bread hugging an array of mouth-watering ingredients, creating the perfect handheld meal to satisfy hunger cravings.
Drive November sandwich sales and foot traffic by celebrating National Sandwich Day with limited-time offers, creative menu innovations, and workplace catering promotions.
- Share customer sandwich creations and DIY recipes on social media
- Promote special sandwich combos and limited-time menu items for November
- Partner with influencers to showcase adventurous sandwich recipes and food trends
- Offer workplace catering deals and team lunch packages for office celebrations
There is a commonly known story about the history of the word sandwich, and it’s attributed to John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich. One piece of that history that has been tossed about is the meaning of the word Sandwich and the town it comes from.
Sandwich is a city in the shire of Kent in England, in the United Kingdom, Originally the word was spelled ‘Sondwic’, and then ‘Sandwic’ and, eventually in the year 1086 as ‘Sandwice’. The name of the town came from its purpose and its claim to fame because it was a market town. So what does Sandwich actually mean? The exact definition is “Market Town on Sandy Soil”.
John Montagu was the fourth Earl of this particular little English town. An earl was a royal title that essentially means ‘chieftain’, which placed the person in charge of a territory in the King’s stead. As it happens, John was a well-known lover of card games. It is said that he originally ordered his meat to be delivered to him between two slices of bread so that he would not get his grease-laden fingers on the card, nor require a fork to eat. Genius!
As people heard of this, they started ordering their food “The Same as Sandwich”, and eventually just “a sandwich”. From such things, legendary culinary delights are born.
Even though some historians claim that the first mention of a “sandwich” in records was from the journal of Edward Gibbon, an English Member of Parliament in the 18th century, it’s likely that the existence of the sandwich goes back much further. Practically speaking, the sandwich has been around since humans have been eating bread.
In fact, some historians take it back as far as the first century BC, when Jewish Rabbi Hillel the Elder was known to put lamb, herbs and nuts between two pieces of bread! But, today, it isn’t called a “Hillel” after the rabbi. It’s called a “sandwich”, after the earl who came around several hundred years later.
And so, National Sandwich Day celebrates both the Earl himself, after whom this food was named, as well as the wonder he brought to the world in the form of what we now know as the sandwich.
Make and Enjoy a Sandwich (or Several!)
All you need to do is get into the kitchen and make yourself every kind of sandwich that can be imagined. Breakfast would certainly get a good start with bacon,. egg and cheese on a bagel (a Bagel Sandwich). Then, for lunch, make it a Whopper from Burger King (Hamburger Sandwich) and move on to dinner by enjoying a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato with Mayo on Sourdough (BLT Sandwich). It’s really as simple as that, though if you’re feeling experimental, National Sandwich Day is the best time to create something new!
Try Out a New Type of Sandwich
Perhaps, when thinking of sandwiches, the mind automatically goes to things like peanut butter and jelly, or a basic ham sandwich. And maybe that sounds just a little bit boring. But sandwiches can also be fun and exciting! They can be an adventurous foray into the world of food. Consider these ideas for sandwich recipes that will help to make the sandwich menu more exciting. Just reading these names is a mouth-watering experience: Chipotle Pulled Pork Sandwich with Feta Cilantro ToppingToasted Pan Bagnat with Tomatoes, Mozzarella and Arugula California Rainbow Veggie with BBQ Kale ChipsCorn Beef Brisket with Irish Cheddar French Toast and Kale Pesto Slaw
Enjoy National Sandwich Day at Work
National Sandwich Day can inspire all sorts of fun activities in the workplace. And lunch is the perfect time to do so. A simple idea would be to have a sub-sandwich restaurant cater in for lunch. Other ideas might include holding a contest to see who can make the tallest sandwich (everyone pitches in to bring ingredients). Or host a sandwich-making competition for the best-tasting sandwich, which can be judged by the boss. This makes the workday go by a little bit smoother on National Sandwich Day.
Take Part in a Sandwich Eating Competition
Sandwich eating can be fun–but it’s also serious business! Different types of these contests take part all over the world, and it takes quite a bit of skill. One winner of these types of competitions is Joey Chestnut, who has been considered to be the number one ranked competitive eater in the world! He has accomplished feats such as eating 72 hot dogs in ten minutes.