British Sandwich Week begins on 16th May 2021. This event will see all sandwich lovers cutting slices from the wholemeal loaf, washing the rocket and baby tomatoes, layering smoked salmon and spreading the camembert. Now you just need to find the wicker hamper and tartan blanket.

Short of time? You could just put a slice of spam in a bap! Whether you are preparing for a high class luncheon or slumming it with pre-packed ham, National Sandwich Day is a great time to think about foods, fillings and lunchtime snacks in the EFL classroom!

 

The History of the Sandwich

The humble sandwich is one of the earliest types of fast food. The sandwich is said to have been invented in the 18th century by John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (Sandwich is a historic town in the south-east county of Kent).

The Earl wanted something satisfying and easy to eat, which would allow him to continue playing cards without needing to use cutlery and without getting his hands greasy.

The resulting ‘sandwich’ meant that the Earl could eat his chosen meat or cheese between two slices of bread without interrupting his cribbage game.

British Sandwich Week and National Sandwich Day

British Sandwich Week runs from 16th to 22nd May 2021. The celebration always takes place in May. National Sandwich Day on 3rd November is the American version of British Sandwich Week. Both events celebrate the glorious sandwich in all its forms!

These occasions are ideal for spending more time preparing the perfect sandwich, incorporating sandwiches into other meals and generally letting this bread and filling meal take centre stage at the dining table.

 

Language for Food Shopping

British Sandwich Week offers the perfect opportunity for EFL students to think about food. This is one of the most important areas of study for learners visiting a country where their target language is spoken.

Learning the names of your favourite foods makes it much easier to ease your way into shopping at supermarkets and it certainly makes life easier when ordering in restaurants.

It is important to know the basics of English food vocabulary and culinary matters for using English when shopping and using English when eating out and choosing food and drink.

But what about when it comes to making the perfect sandwich? This is an especially important consideration during British Sandwich Week. What fillings should you choose to create a proper English sandwich, one that the Earl of Sandwich would have been proud of?

UK Sandwich Culture

The culture of the UK means that where you are in the country will affect what your sandwich is called. Also, the shape of the bread makes all the difference.

You might prefer to call your sandwich a roll, bun, bap, cob, butty or batch. So this choice of styles is another consideration when ordering your perfect bread-based meal ‘on the go’.

From rustic rolls to fancy flat breads, there are sandwiches for all occasions – and British Sandwich Week is the perfect time to try them.

 

Cucumber sandwiches are the famous upper-class snack – a ‘pretty’ sandwich, always made with white bread and often found with its crusts cut off (sacrilege for die-hard ‘no nonsense’ sandwich fans!)

For something more satisfying as your filling, the kind of sandwich that will see you through until dinner time, there are fillings like ham and lettuce, cold meats, egg and cheese and pickle.

You could also boost the health-giving properties of your sandwich by adding some tasty herbs and spices.

For non-native English speakers, the word ‘filling‘ is interesting. It can mean the inside part of a sandwich and also something that is satisfying to eat, satiating and fills the stomach.

Foreign Sandwich Styles

Another issue when thinking about lunchtime snacks is what to make the sandwich with or ‘on’. Should you use white bread, brown bread, wholemeal bread, seeded bread, rye bread, flat bread, sourdough, spelt bread or another sort?

What about putting the filling in a roll, wrap or a pitta bread? Be careful though, some people might think this change in bread shape would render the word ‘sandwich’ inappropriate!

In more modern, adventurous British lunch boxes, you might find a filling of tomato and olive with a dash of olive oil. This certainly has a strong Mediterranean influence and this type of filling will also often be found in other, foreign sandwich-style foods such as the Italian focaccia.

 

You can explore other cultures by creating sandwiches using bread from different countries.

Why not try a French sandwich using brioche (soft, rich, fluffy bread), a German sandwich using pumpernickel (dark, heavy rye bread) or a Spanish sandwich using a bocadillo (a long bread like a baguette, cut lengthways).

You could enjoy making a sandwich with plain loaf or Scottish plain breid with its dark crust. You could even try an Irish ‘boxty’, though this is rather more like a savoury pancake than a sandwich.

British Sandwich Week in the EFL Classroom

Devising an EFL lesson to teach English foods is the perfect way to use British Sandwich Week to your advantage in the EFL classroom.

Teachers can create a gap fill exercise about the history of the sandwich, introducing vocabulary about the Earl of Sandwich and his preferences for a cribbage-friendly meal eaten without a knife and fork.

Students can also discuss sandwich fillings, brainstorm new recipes and talk about the popular sandwiches, breads and other favourite foods from their own countries.

British Sandwich Week is a great opportunity for EFL students to brush up on their English food names so that they can browse the supermarket aisles for some wild sandwich fillings of their choice!

When is a sandwich not a sandwich?

The only task left is to come up with some rulings on bread types and how far we can stray from the classic ‘two slices of bread and a filling’ before the food item ceases to be a proper sandwich and morphs into something entirely different. Now there’s food for thought!

Share your thoughts on British Sandwich Week

Will you be using British Sandwich Week as a spring board to explore new food vocabulary?

Do you have a favourite sandwich recipe?

Have you heard any other names used to describe a sandwich or roll?

Is the word ‘sandwich’ used or understood in your own native language?

Check out our humorous fruit and veg idioms post for more food-related puns, slang and idiomatic expressions.

Share your thoughts below and don’t forget to vote in our poll!

 

Attributions

1. Thomas Gainsborough, Portrait of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, 1783
   [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
2. Serrano Ham Sandwich by travelwayoflife (Bocadillo de Jamon Serrano) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons