British Sandwich Week runs from May 10 to 16 this year - and pubs are beihg urged to revamp their sandwich menus to mark the occasion.
Although the annual Publican Food Report shows that steak is the best-selling pub sandwich, stats from the British Sandwich Association (BSA) put ham at the top of the list overall.
The BSA is celebrating with the Great British Hammie -three sandwiches created by sandwich expert Mark Arnold for the week.
Making up the range are:
- Gammon ham with cream cheese, chives and cucumber on white bread
- Gammon ham with English mustard mayonnaise and lettuce on malted bread
- Gammon ham with free range egg and watercress on malted bread
Tony Goodger foodservice trade manager with BPEX, which promotes British pork, is urging pubs to get on board and give their lunchtime sandwich sales a boost.
He said: "With the focus on ham this year, it should be easy for most pubs who will undoubtedly already offer some type of ham sandwich on their lunch menus."
With pubs in mind, BPEX has developed two added value recipes - ham hock baguette and ham with red onion and apple salsa sandwich. To try the recipes, click on the related story links or go to www.tinyurl/publicanrecipes.
Tony reminded pubs to think about the description of sandwiches on menus and focus on provenance. "As with any other meat dish, consumers are increasingly interested in the quality and origin of ham served, so make it a real feature of it on menus."