Chef sparks ‘sandwich in place’ movement

Many chefs are sidelined during the pandemic, and we’ve seen how cooking at home is different for them than cooking in a restaurant. This doesn’t mean they lose their creative spark, however. Ryan Pfeiffer, executive chef at Chicago’s Blackbird, is proving that with his sandwich creations. Not only is he making delicious ‘wiches, he made a video challenging other chefs to showcase their own ‘sandwich in place’ inventions on Instagram.

The #sandwichinplace challenge has been around for a few weeks, but it’s been picking up steam recently, with people in Oakland, Las Vegas, Vermont, and Minneapolis and even Mexico City posting their creations and showcasing their sandwiches. “Everything is bad right now for everyone, and I wanted to find a way to bring happiness back while also encouraging people to be safe and stay home,” Pfeiffer says.

If you want to join in the challenge but don’t feel like starting from scratch with a new sandwich, turn to the EYB Library for inspiration. Here are a few Member favorites to get you started:

• Shrimp “Louis” sandwiches from My Recipes by Sunset Magazine
• Grilled cheese and fried egg sandwiches from Epicurious by Bon Appetit
• Open-face grilled eggplant sandwiches with olive-walnut relish from Fine Cooking by Kristine Kidd
• Salmon club sandwich  from BBC Good Food Magazine
• Braised caramel pork belly banh mi sandwich from White on Rice Couple (pictured above)
• Curried chickpea sandwich {Suzanne D’Amato} from Food52
• Foie gras breakfast sandwich from The Art of Living According to Joe Beef by Frédéric Morin and David McMillan and Meredith Erickson
• The ultimate salad sandwich from Australian Gourmet Traveller Magazine