A big idea hatched over a few drinks has become a huge reality for a South African bar owner and her husband.
Annie’s Ladies Bar in Cape Town recently served up a gigantic Gatsby submarine sandwich measuring 9.8 feet long.
According to the Associated Press, the sandwich was packed with more than 10 layers of ingredients and was precariously balanced on a weighing scale using a propped tray, resulting in a weight of 145 pounds.
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Joe Lederinghuys, who came up with the plan and runs the shop with his wife, owner Annie, said it took more than four hours of preparation and about $160 in materials, according to the Associated Press.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Lederinghuys for additional information about their massive submarine.
Joe Ledelinghuys (left), Annie Ledelinghuys (center) and chef Michael Stein (right) pose for a photo in front of a giant Gatsby sandwich at Annie’s Ladies Bar in Cape Town, South Africa. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via The Associated Press)
Created with the help of chef Michael Stein, the sandwich was a bold take on the Gatsby, a famous South African takeaway dish with a history of its own.
According to the Associated Press, Gatsby typically consists of “slap chips” (chunky French fries) and meat in a thick bread roll, traditionally served in a portion large enough for multiple people. It originated in Cape Town in the mid-1970s and became a popular takeaway snack for blue-collar workers to carve and share.
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It’s said that the name was chosen because the film “The Great Gatsby,” starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, had just been released in theaters.
The ingredients packed into the Gatsby Sub included about 44 pounds of meat, ranging from three types of sliced sausage to steak, burger patties and chicken filets, 6.6 pounds of tomatoes, 22 pounds of triple layers of fries to top off the meat, a layer of calamari for those who prefer seafood, and onion rings to finish it off.
The Gatsby Sub is named after the film The Great Gatsby, starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford. (CBS via Getty Images)
The sauces varied depending on the layer – garlic, cheese, pepper, mushroom, tartar etc.
Joe Lederinghuys said the biggest challenge was finding a roll to fit it all in. He had to have three specially baked, 3-foot-long rolls fitted together.
But giant-sized food is nothing new for the Lederinghuys: In 2019, Annie’s Ladies Bar made waves when it unveiled a gigantic 273-pound burger.
This is becoming recognized as the largest Gatsby sandwich in the country.
Lederinghuis said Annie’s recently added Gatsby’s to the menu, and one day last month, conversation at the bar shifted to another blockbuster project.
“So I said, next Saturday we’re going to do the biggest Gatsby in South Africa,” he told The Associated Press.
Lederinghuys said he has been in contact with South African records authorities and is in the process of having the sandwich certified as the country’s largest Gatsby sandwich.
Annie Lederinghuys poses for a photo with Gatsby, a gigantic submarine that is 9.8 feet long and weighs 145 pounds. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via The Associated Press)
Over the years, oversized sandwiches have been in the news.
The world’s longest sandwich, as certified by the Guinness World Records, was made in Lebanon in 2011. Measuring 2,411 feet 5 inches in length, or nearly half a mile, the sandwich took three teams of people 22 hours to cook and prepare, according to the Guinness World Records website.
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In 2014, it took more than 80 people to make a 200-foot-long sandwich in Mexico City, Fox News Latino reported.
The giant torta sandwich, containing thousands of slices of bread, lettuce, onions and tomatoes, as well as hundreds of litres of mayonnaise, mustard and other sauces, broke all records in Latin America.
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Last year, a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, introduced a 150-foot-long bologna sandwich that contained 600 slices of provolone cheese and 1,200 slices of bologna cheese, according to Philadelphia’s Fox 29.
The sandwiches were then divided into 900 pieces, six sandwiches per foot, to be eaten by fair-goers.
In 2023, volunteers work to assemble a 150-foot-long bologna sandwich at the fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. (Shawn Simmers/The Patriot-News via The Associated Press)
The world’s largest sandwich ever recorded was made in the United States.
According to the Guinness World Records website, Woody’s Chill and Grill in Roseville, Michigan, set the record in 2005 with a 5,440-pound sandwich.
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When each ingredient was weighed out, the total was 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 has already disappeared after being served as a treat to Annie’s patrons — Joe Lederinghuys estimates it fed about 140 people.
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“We invited a lot of our regular customers over to have sandwiches, and then they invited their friends, and their friends invited their friends,” Lederinghuys told The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
