Ever wondered what was the best thing before sliced bread? Wonder no more, that title belongs to the fourth Earl of Sandwich, John Montague. Yes, he is the guy we have to thank for the humble sandwich. Well, more like his gambling and alcohol problem. Thanks to his, um, habits, the Earl was left with a serious quagmire; what can a 17th century man eat with only one hand?

 

 

 

 

Refusing to stop during another one of his frenzied gambling sessions the Earl ordered his cooks to put a bit of meat between two slices of bread. This nearly resulted in mutiny, as it was deemed very inappropriate behavior for an aristocrat to eat such common food. But none the less his fellow gamblers soon asked for the same snack, and so the best thing since sliced bread was invented.

Since then the sandwich has become firmly rooted in our history and culture. The American’s have PB&J sandwiches, the British eat theirs with ‘crisps’ the Japanese make sandwiches out of rice, Brazilians eat them topless, Russians dip theirs in Vodka, Iraq does not have sandwiches thanks to America, and us, well we call it a ‘gatsby’.

Sandwiches have become a part of our everyday lives, and somewhat iconic in its 400 years of existence. We have made the world’s largest sandwich; a 2.5 ton ham and cheese sandwich from Michigan, USA. Scientists have manufactured an indestructible sandwich abomination that can stay fresh for up to 3 years, so that soldiers can eat on the move. The British eat nearly 11 billion sandwiches a year and Americans eats over 45 billion sandwiches a year. Even Shaquille O’Neal has a longstanding sandwich tradition: he eats three club sandwiches and a large Pepsi before suiting up. He’s been doing this his entire career.

Yes, the sandwich is truly magnificent. Real brain food; with the average child consuming 1 500 peanut butter sandwiches before graduating from high school. But have you ever thought of your humble sandwich as pure, edible art? Mothers’ across the world will revolt, but art is not something that is only created on a canvas or a computer screen, and solely thrives in galleries. It is not something to just be admired and never tasted…

After the age of six, few of us take the art of playing with our food much further than a smiley face sandwich or a mash potato volcano here and there. But for the truly imaginative out there art is everything and anything, and this is some serous art, dare I say the best thing since sliced bread, and the best part is that you don’t need a design degree or masters in fine art. All you need is bread, a knife and a total disregard of what you mother told you when you were six.

Take a look at these ridiculously creative sandwiches; from Nike shoes, to Rubik’s cubes, cell phones, ties, piano’s, coffins, dragons and everything in between. So get into the Kitchen and let you creativity loose and upload your sandwich art photos on one small seed.net.
Bon Appetite!