The giant Gatsby submarine, almost 3 metres long, has caused a sensation in South Africa
A giant idea that came to fruition over a few drinks has become a giant reality for a South African bar owner and her husband.
Annie’s Ladies bar in Cape Town recently served a giant Gatsby submarine sandwich measuring 10 feet long.
With no fewer than 10 layers of filling, the sandwich weighed 145 pounds after being precariously balanced on a scale using a tray with supports, according to the Associated Press.
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It took more than four hours to prepare at a cost of about $160 for the ingredients, according to Joe Redelinghuys, who came up with the idea for the plan and runs the place with his wife and owner, Annie, the AP said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Redelinghuys for additional information about their giant submarine.
Joe Redelinghuys, left, Annie Redelinghuys, center, and chef Michael Steyn, right, pose for a photo at Annie’s Ladies Bar with a giant Gatsby sandwich on display at the Cape Town, South Africa, establishment. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via AP)
The sandwich, which chef Michael Steyn helped prepare, was a gigantic version of the Gatsby, a famous South African takeaway that has its own unique history.
The Gatsby is typically made with slap chips and meat in a large bun. It was traditionally served large enough to feed several people, the AP said. It originated in Cape Town in the mid-1970s as a takeaway for factory workers who would slice and share it.
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It is said that its name comes from the fact that the film “The Great Gatsby”, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, had just been released in theaters.
The ingredients that filled the Gatsby sandwich included about 44 pounds of meat, ranging from three types of sliced ​​sausage to steaks, hamburger patties and chicken tenders; 6.6 pounds of tomatoes; three layers of 22-pound French fries to separate the meats; a layer of calamari for those who prefer seafood; and onion rings to top it all off.
The Gatsby submarine is named after the film “The Great Gatsby” starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford. (CBS via Getty Images)
Sauces ranged from garlic to cheese, pepper, mushroom and tartare, depending on the layer.
Joe Redelinghuys said the biggest challenge was finding a bun that would fit everything in. He had to specially bake three 3-foot-long buns and assemble them.
But giant-sized food is nothing new for the Redelinghuys, who made headlines in 2019 when Annie’s Ladies Bar unveiled a massive burger weighing in at 273 pounds.
It’s on track to be recognized as the country’s greatest Gatsby sandwich.
Redelinghuys said Annie’s recently put Gatsby on its menu, and discussions at the bar one day last month turned into another big project.
“So I said next Saturday I’m going to do the Great Gatsby in South Africa,” he told the AP.
Redelinghuys said he has been in contact with South African archives officials and that the sandwich is on track to be recognised as the country’s biggest Gatsby sandwich.
Annie Redelinghuys poses for a photo with the giant Gatsby submarine, measuring 9.8 feet long and weighing 145 pounds. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via AP)
Other oversized sandwiches have made news over the years.
The Guinness World Record for the longest sandwich was set in Lebanon in 2011. Measuring 2,411 feet, 5 inches, or nearly half a mile, the sandwich took 22 hours to prepare and required three teams of participants to cook and prepare, according to the Guinness World Records website.
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It took more than 80 people to make a nearly 200-foot-long sandwich in Mexico City in 2014, Fox News Latino reported.
The enormous torta sandwich included thousands of pieces of bread, lettuce, onion and tomato, combined with hundreds of liters of mayonnaise, mustard and other sauces, breaking a Latin American record.
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Last year, a 150-foot mortadella sandwich was showcased at a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Fox 29 in Philadelphia reported. It contained 600 slices of provolone cheese and 1,200 slices of mortadella.
The sandwich was then divided 900 ways – six sandwiches per foot – for fairgoers to eat.
Volunteers work to assemble a 150-foot-long mortadella sandwich at a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 2023. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)
The world’s largest sandwich ever recorded was made in America.
The Guinness World Record website reported that Woody’s Chill and Grill in Roseville, Michigan, set the record in 2005 with a sandwich weighing 5,440 pounds.
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Each ingredient was measured, which included 150 pounds of mustard, 1,032 pounds of corned beef, 260 pounds of cheese, 530 pounds of lettuce and 3,568 pounds of bread.
The Giant Gatsby is long gone after being offered to Annie’s regulars as a snack. By Joe Redelinghuys’s calculations, it fed about 140 people.
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“We invited a lot of our regular customers” to eat the sandwich, Redelinghuys told the AP. “And they invited friends. And their friends invited friends.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
