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THE THE
ACE ACE
OF
CLUBS CLUBS
The quest
for the
perfect
Hotel club
sandwich
B Y D A V I D M A S L I N

THE
ACE
OF
CLUBS
T he
club sandwich is one of
the staples of hotel restau-
rants and room service menus
just about everywhere you go.
Over the past twenty years
of publishing The Gallivanter’s
Guide, I have been checking out
club sandwiches from all over
the world; from North America
and Europe, to Asia and Austral-
ia. For me, that humble sand-
wich says a lot about the hotel
in question.
2
You could be forgiven for believ-
ing that one club sandwich is
much the same as any other.
They are considered ‘staples’.
Everybody knows that they
invariably consist of slices of
chicken, bacon or ham, boiled
or fried egg, tomato, lettuce,
and mayonnaise, sandwiched
between three slices of toasted
bread and served with a portion
of french fries or potato chips.

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ACE
OF
CLUBS
S o
who first coined the name
‘Club Sandwich’? It suggests
North American origins, but in
truth, nobody appears to know
for sure whether this popular
sandwich, served throughout
hotels worldwide and in various
resorts and country clubs, was,
as some say, the favourite of
England’s Edward VIII and his
American wife, Wallis Simpson,
who apparently took great
delight in preparing it for him.
The word ‘club’ probably derives
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from the fact that the sandwich
was popularised in various coun-
try clubs; the sandwich itself
definitely existing as far back as
the late 19th Century.
One theory has the sandwich
first appearing in 1894 at the
infamous Saratoga Club House,
which was a gentlemen-only
gambling house in upstate New
York’s Saratoga Springs, where
coincidentally, potato chips
were originally conceived (or so
they say).

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OF
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If we examine culinary history
books, then Marion H. Neil’s 1916
book, ‘Salads, Sandwiches, and
Chafing Dish Recipes’, tells us
that, like many great inven-
tions, the club sandwich was
conceived by accident. An un-
known man, who arrived home
late and hungry to find that his
family and servants had
retired for the night, threw
together everything he could
find. Neil asserts that the
originator of the sandwich
was a member of a particular
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club, where he shared his recipe
amongst friends, and it hence-
forth became known as the club
sandwich.
There appears to be no record
of a recipe for a club sandwich
prior to 1903, when one was
published in the ‘Good House-
keeping Everyday Cook Book’,
by Isabel Gordon Curtis. Then in
1904, at The World’s Fair in St.
Louis, four of the restaurants
featured their various versions
and helped popularise the con-

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OF
CLUBS
cept worldwide.
In 1929, Florence A. Cowles
described the history of the club
sandwich in her cook book
‘Seven Hundred Sandwiches’,
but she gives us no real proof as
to its origins. She does, howev-
er, advise us that ‘the sandwich
should be eaten with knife and
fork’. Quite right, too.
Truly, there are no real rules
when it comes to making a club
sandwich, although some have
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tried to make them, advising
that the sandwich should consist
of one to five layers, with a firm
foundation of toast. The filling,
it seems, is optional, so unlike
the early clubs, which consisted
of turkey, bacon, lettuce, toma-
to and mayonnaise, today’s
clubs can involve just about
anything you please, including
lobster.

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Typical
club sandwich
fillings.
Tomato, bacon,
egg, chicken
and lettuce.

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OF
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The
Good,
the Bad
and
the Ugly.
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So what is the difference between
a good club sandwich and a bad
one? Most chefs use 3 slices of white
bread, toasted both sides to make up
the sandwich.
Now this can work fine if, and it’s a
big if, the sandwich is delivered to
the guest immediately. This, I find, is
impossible if it is a room service
order and is unlikely in a restaurant.
If the sandwich sits around even for a
few minutes, that white, toasted
bread is going to be soggy in the mid-

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OF
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dle, and the french fries are not
going to be much better.
One of the few hotels that I have
come across that manages to pull
this combination off is Four Seasons
Hotel des Bergues, Geneva.
They pride themselves on their à la
minute club sandwich, and believe
me, it really is of the minute. Take a
look at the picture on the left.

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I n
my opinion, the best solu-
tion to the soggy middle is to
use a different type of bread.
The options include wholemeal,
panini, ciabatta, or even, as
they do at The Observatory in
Sydney, Turkish bread! Perhaps
the most sensible solution is to
offer the guest the choice of
several different types of bread,
as they do at the revitalised
Four Seasons Hotel London at
Park Lane (see top right).
Another unusual, but excellent
club sandwich, was the example
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Four Seasons London’s Club sandwich with choice of bread.
served by Taj Exotica Resort &
Spa, Maldives. We featured this
in our book, The Ultimate Hotel
Guide, as a really creative pres-
entation (see below).

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CLUBS
Classic
versus
Innovative.
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Irecently tested out the club sandwich
offered by The Peninsula
Bangkok, at the River Café &
Terrace, and whilst awaiting its
arrival, the hotel’s then Executive
Chef, Philip Sedgwick, stopped by to
say hello.
When he learned why I had ordered
the club sandwich, he revealed that
he had experimented with two other
versions before management had
decreed on the classic that was on its
way to me.

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Recognising my interest, he called
the kitchen and asked them to pre-
pare both experimental versions as
well, so that I could try them. Version
A is the classic; 3 slices of white toast-
ed bread with french
fries. Version B is
Philip’s healthy club
sandwich, using 2 slices
of wholemeal bread and
served with a green
salad, and version C
employs crispy panini and
is also served with fries.
A
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C
B

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As I feared, the Peninsula classic club
sandwich was soggy inside, whilst the
healthy version, whilst avoiding this
fate, did not really impress. For me,
the best option was C, the panini bread
club sandwich.
This was crisp and if it had been pre-
sented in its finished form, as
opposed to a prototype, I suspect it
would have walked all over the other
two versions. Oh well, that’s man-
agement for you!
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You eat
with your
eyes before
you eat
with your
mouth.

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OF
CLUBS
P resentation
plays an impor-
tant role in determining a
good club sandwich. If the food
on the plate looks tempting then
you will enjoy it even more.
It never ceases to amaze me that
chefs will take a lot of trouble
over the presentation of their
food at lunch and dinner, choos-
ing just the right plate or dish
and arranging the food meticu-
lously, but when it comes to the
‘staples’, like a club sandwich,
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their standards disappear.
Choosing an interesting way to
display the sandwich or french
fries can turn the ordinary into
something truly special.
Over the next few pages you will
see examples of club sandwiches
that range, visually, from the yuk
to the yummy.
See if you agree.

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OF
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Here and on the next page, we
show three club sandwiches of
varying construction, but all making
my point about presentation.
The first, E, is the offering from a
resort in Australia; an interesting use
of ciabatta, but a boring white plate,
and presentation that looks a com-
plete mess.
My score? It’s a Yuk!
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E

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OF
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D is the Lobster club
sandwich on the menu of
a resort in Berkshire,
England. This is totally
unlike the usual club sandwich, and
consists of a single slice of toasted
wholemeal bread, smothered in may-
onnaise.
F, meanwhile, is a classic club, from a
resort in Laos; quite tasty, but just
thrown together on another boring
white plate.
Sorry, but two more yuks!
D
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F

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H
16
G
Here we have two
more club sand-
wiches. G, from
Amanusa in Bali, is an
unusual one in that it uses a bun
instead of the traditional white toast.
The fries were served separately from
the sandwich. In contrast, H, from
Chewton Glen in Hampshire, is a clas-
sic club, beautifully presented on a
striking square platter with the
french fries an integral part of the
plate. Simple yet yummy!

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OF
CLUBS
Trisara Phuket’s offering, J, is
another classic club, this time utilis-
ing white toasted bread on the out-
side and wholemeal for the
J
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K
middle slice, which
is a clever idea as it
helps prevent a soggy
middle. Served with a
nice basket of french
fries, it looked and
tasted great.
Four Seasons Bangkok,
meanwhile, serves up a classic club
on a silver edged plate with a trio of
sauces, K. Great presentation again.
Another yummy for both!

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L is a more recent offering, from
Taj Exotica Resort & Spa in the
Maldives.
It brings together all the ele-
ments; crisp panini bread, super
french fries and salad, in a pres-
entation that cries out, EAT
ME!!!
Together with the classic club
sandwich from Four Seasons
Hotel des Bergues on page 8,
they are two of my current
favourites.
L
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OF
F
ollowing a recent trip to China, I present the club sandwich
CLUBS offerings from six different hotels in Hong Kong, Hangzhou
and Shanghai. P is the club sandwich served in Café Causette
P
at Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong. I particularly like the use of
the faux Times newspaper holding the french fries: altogether
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a first rate club sand-
wich.
Q

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Q is the club sandwich I had at The Peninsula Hong Kong: two
slices of whole grain toast, cut four ways. Once again, good use
of a cone of paper to hold the french fries, together with a lit-
tle coleslaw; a nice touch. The whole dish was beautifully pre-
sented on a glass platter. R and S are both from Four Seasons
Hong Kong. On the left, the panini version. On the right, whole
grain. Neither is presented with any flair, and although they
tasted OK, they lacked inspiration.
R
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S

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My final two Chinese examples:
The Peninsula Shanghai
had no bread that did not
contain milk, so as I am
dairy-free, they opted for
T and compounded their
sins by omitting the egg
and garnishing with potato
crisps!
Four Seasons Shanghai
V
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fared better with V: three slices of
toasted white bread with fried egg,
thickly cut chicken, and salad
dressed with too much mayonnaise;
served on a black platter with the
french fries in a Kilner Jar, accom-
panied by a small dish of raw veg-
etables and ketchup. All in all,
not a bad effort.
T

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S o
how do you make the Ace
of Club sandwiches?
Firstly, choose the right type of
bread. If you must use tradition-
al white toasted, then ensure
that it arrives crisp, not soggy.
Preferably, opt for wholemeal
bread, or a combination of the
two. Either way, cut off the
crusts. Personally, I prefer cia-
batta or panini, as both of these
ensure a crisp outer covering.
Freshly made mayonnaise should
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be used, not butter.
Next, the filling: the chicken or
turkey should be freshly cooked,
not processed (which, unbeliev-
ably, is what they served me at
The Peninsula New York!). The
chicken should be sliced, not
too thick or thin, and the bacon
should be crisp.
The lettuce should be fresh (it
often isn’t) and the egg should
be fried or boiled. The french
fries (not potato crisps!) should

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be freshly cooked, cut thick or
thin according to preference,
but always crisp!
Because you eat with your eyes
before you eat with your mouth,
make some effort to showcase
your club sandwich. Source an
interesting dish or platter to
give the dish a ‘Wow’ factor!
Endeavour to make the french
fries an integral part of the
dish, either by using a cone of
paper or some other device.
In Hong Kong, I was impressed
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by Mandarin Oriental’s clever
use of a silver flute lined with a
miniature copy of the Times
newspaper to hold the french
fries. Contrast these versions
with the club sandwiches shown
on pages 14 and 15, and you will
see the difference.
Lastly, I quite like the addition
of a small salad as a counter-
point to the sandwich and fries,
but again, this needs to be part
of the whole dish and should not
look like an afterthought.

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Happy Happy
clubbing! clubbing!
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