Megan Fallows from Greencore wowed the judges with her Cauli Cheese Toastie, based on her grandmother's recipe. All the judges were wowed by the taste and innovative use of the Jarlsberg cheese in the toastie. Sophie Whyman's Pear of Stars used the New York Bakery Star Bun to create an innovative sweet sandwich that left the judges hungry for more with her delicate mix of sweet flavours.
With chefs participating from across the UK and inspiration taken from around the world the competition was intense with a smorgasbord of flavours used in the stunning sandwich creations. The chefs competed across six different categories with some exciting recipes. In the Royal Greenland MSC Cooked and Peeled Cold Water Prawns category, healthy eating was definitely on the agenda with some fresh twists and innovative use of carriers like wraps. Sam Browne's Shredded Duck category took on a real oriental flavour with some wonderful Japanese-inspired recipes. No such thing as plain old chicken in H. Smith's Shredded Chicken category with many of the sandwiches taking on an international feel with Thai, Kiev, Italian and Mexican sandwiches impressing the judges. Norseland's Jarlsberg proved it's versatility whether melted as a breakfast sandwich or used as a tasty topping and New York Bakery's Star Bun enabled our chefs to get really creative with even ice cream as a chosen filling. New for 2019, the Applewood Free From category really showcases how this dynamic industry is changing with some really healthy and innovative product used in the vegetarian lunch pots.
It was a tough job for the judges having to eat their way through 30 sandwiches and lunch pots and with so much creativity on show, choosing a winner was an arduous task so it was an executive decision to name two winners for 2019.
The category results are: