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A South African restaurant recently served up a 3-meter-long (9.8 feet) sandwich, adding to its reputation for creating supersized dishes.
The giant submarine sandwich, made by Annies Ladies Bar in Cape Town, follows their 2019 creation of a 124-kilogram (273 pounds) burger. This latest culinary feat weighed in at 65.27 kilograms (145 pounds), featuring ten layers of fillings and requiring a specially balanced tray to be weighed accurately.
Joe Redelinghuys, who co-runs the restaurant with his wife Annie, shared that it took over four hours and approximately $160 in ingredients to prepare. The sandwich included 3 kilograms (6.6 pounds) of tomatoes, around 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of various meats (sliced sausage, steak, burger patties, and chicken fillets), 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of french fries, a layer of calamari, and a topping of onion rings. Multiple sauces—garlic, cheese, pepper, mushroom, and tartare—complemented the different layers.
One of the biggest challenges was finding a suitable bread roll, so Redelinghuys had three 1-meter (3 feet) rolls specially baked and joined together.
The sandwich was a massive take on the Gatsby, a traditional South African meal known for its substantial size and filling combination of “slap chips” (sloppy french fries) and meat in a large bread roll. The Gatsby originated in Cape Town in the mid-1970s and was intended to be shared among multiple people. It was named after “The Great Gatsby” movie, which had just been released at the time.
Inspired by the success of their burger, Redelinghuys announced his plan to make South Africa’s biggest Gatsby. Now, Annies Ladies Bar is in the process of having this colossal sandwich recognized by South African record officials. While it won’t set a world record—the largest sandwich, weighing 2,467 kilograms (5,440 pounds), was made in Roseville, Michigan, in 2005—it is poised to be a national record.
The Greatest Gatsby, as it was dubbed, was shared among Annies’ regulars and their friends, ultimately feeding about 140 people. Redelinghuys recounted, “We invited a lot of our regular clients to come and eat the sandwich, and they invited friends. And their friends invited friends.”
