Would you care for a sandwich?

The first sandwich is usually said to have been eaten by John Montagu (1718-1792), the 4th Earl of Sandwich. He often spent the entire day gambling, ordering his valet to bring to him meat between two slices of bread so that he could go on playing while he ate without getting the cards and his hands greasy. 

Although he was not the inventor, many people started ordering “the same as Sandwich”. In 1762 Edward Gibbon´s journal provided the first written record of the word sandwich.

Cucumber sandwiches are a classic afternoon tea recipe in England.

The club sandwich is made with three slices of toasted bread and two decks of filling held together by a hors d´oeuvre stick.

It is thought to be named after the double-decker club cars that came into use on American railways at the end of the 19th century.

The title of Earl of Sandwich is from the 17th century and is associated with Sandwich, Kent. The current earl was born in 1943 and is the 11th Earl of Sandwich.


Harrison, Ian (comp). The Book of Firsts. Readers´s Digest, 2003