The story of the sandwich
The Food Chain
BBC
4.7 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 5 March 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Shattering the myth of its aristocratic origins and exploring some of the boldest creations; Ruth Alexander finds out about the history, culture and family ties wrapped up in the sandwich.
Josh Veasey, co-owner of Rack in North West England talks about his menu’s hits and misses and what it’s like to make a living out of making sandwiches.
The fourth Earl of Sandwich John Montagu is popularly credited with coming up with the idea of putting a tasty filling between two slices of bread; food historian Dr Annie Gray reveals the facts of the matter.
Masterchef Australia finalist and food writer Samira el Khafir talks about some of her favourite Middle Eastern wraps, enduring staples in the region and far beyond.
Ruth discusses the changing fashions for fillings with Barry Enderwick, the California-based creator of the social media channel, Sandwiches of History.
And Ozoz Sokoh, author of Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria, reflects on how the sandwiches of her childhood were shaped by a long history of enslavement and British colonial rule.
Producers: Julia Paul & Lexy O’Connor Sound engineer: Hal Haines Editor: Sara Wadeson
(Phoro: A smiling dark haired woman holds up a sandwich with a bite taken out of it. Credit: Farkot Architect/Getty Images)
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts. |
| 0:07.0 | I'm no longer ravenous. I'll no longer eat until I fall asleep. |
| 0:11.0 | The Hunger Game, a new five-part series exploring the meteoric rise of weight loss drugs. |
| 0:16.0 | It's been an incredible story with these drugs. |
| 0:18.1 | The uptake, the amount of product that's been sold, the amount of money is cost. What the drugs do, how they work, and the knock-on effects of their widespread use. |
| 0:26.5 | We'll be sitting here in three years' time going, oh, it caused problems that we're now going |
| 0:31.3 | to have to fix. The Hunger Game with me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:43.8 | Thank you. me, Professor Gilesio. Listen first on BBC Sounds. From the simple... |
| 0:45.8 | Two slices of hand-cut bread, so I determine the thickness, lightly toasted, salted butter, and raspberry jam. Cut on the diagonal, I'm in heaven. |
| 1:00.4 | To the seriously complicated. It has ham, it has cheese, it has avocado, has tomato, has bacon, |
| 1:06.6 | has peanut butter, has unsweetened coconut. It was just bonkers. And I thought this is going to be awful. |
| 1:11.9 | And I bit into it, and it was delicious. |
| 1:14.4 | The possibilities of the sandwich are endless. |
| 1:18.1 | Hearty, dainty, humble, spectacle. |
| 1:22.0 | We did a lasanwich as special. |
| 1:24.8 | How did that work? |
| 1:25.5 | A lasagna in between two slices of bread? Yeah, in between two |
| 1:28.7 | slices of bread. This is the food chain from the BBC World Service. I'm Ruth Alexander, |
| 1:33.9 | and today's programme is all about the sandwich and the surprising layers of meaning that can be |
| 1:39.9 | wrapped up in it. This is a beef biria in production, the bestseller at Rack, a sandwich shop with branches |
| 1:49.6 | in Manchester and Stockport in north-west England. |
| 1:52.8 | Out on the cafe floor, co-owner Josh Fizi describes it in mouth-watering detail. |
... |
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