Sandwich Supremo - The Winner of Pub Sandwich of the Year 2005

Earlier this year PubChef launched a competition to find the best pub sandwich in Britain. Jo Bruce reports on the finalists and winner of the Pub Sandwich of the Year 2005 competition

Ever since the Earl of Sandwich invented the humble butty in 1762 it has played an important part in the British diet. So much so that sandwiches are now a £3.3bn business in the UK and are an important part of any pub's menu.

With pressure on the time customer's have for lunch, many pubs are now offering take-away sandwich options or are making their sandwiches a meal in themselves - enough to satisfy customers' hunger, but as a menu option that will be served quickly.

Our Pub Sandwich of the Year 2005 competition set out with the joint aims of finding the best pub sandwich in Britain and celebrating the quality and innovation in sandwiches across pub menus.

Our judges were looking for a sandwich, that was innovative, used quality ingredients, had excellent presentation, offered good value for money and made pub chefs good gross profit.

Entrants were asked to enter details of their pub's sandwich offering, their views on what makes a good pub sandwich and their sandwich recipe.

A paper judging whittled dozens of entries down to just four finalists, who were then visited by our judging panel for proper sarnie sampling.

The quality of all entries was extremely high and the judges were impressed with the innovation, attention to detail, range of breads and quality of ingredients being used. The judging panel included Lucy Pickersgill, marketing controller of Délifrance UK and Jo Bruce, editor of PubChef magazine.

Lucy Pickersgill says: "I was extremely impressed by the overall standard of entries. The entrant's enthusiasm and commitment to quality and freshness with astonishing attention to detail really shone through.

"Our finalists' sandwiches all represented good value for money, whether it was a takeaway option, or a meal eaten in-house.

"The variety of breads being used reinforced the UK's growing taste for Continental and speciality breads. It is clear that the humble sandwich is a key driver in the food offering for pubs."

The four competition finalists were the Punch Tavern in Fleet Street, London, the Druid Inn in Birchover, Derbyshire, the Gun in Docklands, London and the Lydden Bell in Lydden, near Dover, Kent.

The winner

A sandwich capturing a taste of Derbyshire has been judged Pub Sandwich of the Year 2005.

Head chef at the Druid Inn in Birchover, near Matlock, Derbyshire, Michael Thompson, won the competition with his "Derbyshire Tradition" sandwich - an entry that impressed the competition judges with its excellent presentation and superb mix of flavours.

The base for the sandwich is black-pudding bread, which is made by the pub's pastry chef and Michael's brother Brian Thompson. Other ingredients used are Scottish Black Gold ribeye steak, black pudding from Armstrongs in Bakewell, mushrooms from Ashbourne, Stilton from Hartington, and brown-sauce onions. It is served with the pub's homemade canteen ketchup, hand-cut chips and aioli.

The sandwich costs £8, with ingredient costs of approx £2.50, which makes an excellent gross profit of 69%. Dozens are sold at the pub every week and it has featured on the menu since the pub opened in February.

Michael believes a good pub sandwich should be: "Value for money, unique to the area, have different textures and great bread, use local produce, be visually stunning and be made to order."

Judge Lucy Pickersgill of Délifrance UK says: "Michael's sandwich was a pleasure to eat. Everything about it looked homemade and the attention to detail was excellent.

"Presentation was innovative, and the use of a breadboard instead of a plate added a real touch of rustic excellence. The sandwich was excellent value for money, being a meal in itself. Ingredients were sourced locally where possible and were of unmistakable quality. For black pudding lovers this bread has to be tried."

PubChef editor Jo Bruce says: "The Druid Inn is very much a destination pub and attracts customers from a wide distance. This sandwich has real wow factor and is definitely worth travelling for. I am certain that any pub customer would be thrilled to be served it."

Other sandwiches on the pub's menu include New York deli club (£7), Scarsdale ham with pineapple salsa (£4.50), Cornish Yarg with carrot chutney (£4), rare roast beef with horseradish crème fraîche and rocket (£5), and fresh white crabmeat with avocado, chilli and coriander (£5).

The pub is a freehold and is run by Richard Smith and Adrian Cooling, who also run Thyme Restaurant and Café in Sheffield.

Head chef Michael Thompson is a director in the business. Dishes on the daily-changing menu include baked oysters, Savoy cabbage and bacon with Guinness sabayon (£8), platter of smoked and cured local and Continental meats (£9), carpaccio of blue fin tuna, lime crème fraîche and asparagus (£7), Duck confit Shepherds pie and crispy skinned duck breast (£14), and loin of tuna with niçoise salad (£16).