What's your favourite sandwich filling? Opening a shop soon

[technodup]

jmorgan said:

Good sandwich can have all that however cheap ingredients with no thought means a crap sandwich no matter what. I would love a good sandwich shop instead of having to buy processed crap at the supermarket, I eat that when I have no choice. e.g. Processed ham is awful in any form and it is easy to get a good cut if you know where to look, nothing fancy, just good ingredients. I get mine from the local market

But in the real world of catering you can't go to the meat market for meat, the farmer for eggs, the greengrocer for hand picked salad leaves. It's catering tubs and vacuum packs from the wholesaler because it's easy, it's cheap and it's in one place.

There are small pockets of areas which might sustain 'artisanal' sandwiches at a premium but they're few and far between. And from what the OP said he's not in one. Personally I'd prefer quick in and out than having to wait in a queue while you have a moral dilemma about which farm the pig came from and who shot it.

ATEOTD selling sandwiches is about making money, not making a point.

If you check Youtube you might find a BBC Scotland programme about a guy who tried it in Glasgow. Actual pig in the window, pulled pork galore. Great PR. Lasted about three months. Normal punters don't want it.

[Mr Roper]

Here's my 2p worth.


Fair play..You are trying to understand what people want and the quickest way to understand that is to offer up a small yet varied menu of fillings away from the norm..Go nuts, fill your boots...Trialling fillings is is part of your initial investment and not hugely expensive...Continually throwing food away is..But you need to know what sells. Put a decent menu together...There ARE people that want more from a sandwich than ham and cheese. Your customers will VERY quickly let you know what sells in your area.


Put menus on the window as soon as you possibly can....Give the customers an idea of what you plan sell before your grand opening. Give out samples etc.


And most of all....Good luck

[battered]

Type R Tom said:

Slightly OT but are use by dates sacrosanct in the food industry on brought in stuff? Just at home half my fridge is out of date and I just use my senses to see if something is edible or not.

Yes they are. UB dates are the law. If you use food over its date without an extension *from the original manufacturer* then you can be prosecuted. This is something EHOs look very hard for and if you fail to comply they will do you with the full force of the law. Best before/BBE dates are advisory. The classic here is bread. Eat it a day after its BB, it won't hurt you but it will be stale. That's your look out. Use by is about food safety. Eat a prawn mayo sandwich a day after its UB and it just might poison you. There is NO leeway.

What you do in your own home is up to you, of course.

It's one of the problems with the "waste food project" type places that *do* use food beyond BB and UB dates. They get round the law by saying "well, we don't sell the food, we just ask for donations" but this is no defence. If anyone gets sick, God help the supplier of the dodgy sandwich.

[Type R Tom]

battered said:

Yes they are. UB dates are the law. If you use food over its date without an extension *from the original manufacturer* then you can be prosecuted. This is something EHOs look very hard for and if you fail to comply they will do you with the full force of the law. Best before/BBE dates are advisory. The classic here is bread. Eat it a day after its BB, it won't hurt you but it will be stale. That's your look out. Use by is about food safety. Eat a prawn mayo sandwich a day after its UB and it just might poison you. There is NO leeway.

What you do in your own home is up to you, of course.

It's one of the problems with the "waste food project" type places that *do* use food beyond BB and UB dates. They get round the law by saying "well, we don't sell the food, we just ask for donations" but this is no defence. If anyone gets sick, God help the supplier of the dodgy sandwich.

Interesting, thanks.

[Type R Tom]

technodup said:

If you check Youtube you might find a BBC Scotland programme about a guy who tried it in Glasgow. Actual pig in the window, pulled pork galore. Great PR. Lasted about three months. Normal punters don't want it.

There is one in Canterbury doing exactly that and a roaring trade. http://www.porkandco.co.uk/

Right next to the Cathedral so in a great location but equally the overheads are nuts!

[trackdemon]

DeanR32 said:

The shop will be in Leigh on Sea (not anywhere near the Broadway though). I'll have to start another thread when it's nearing opening. Of course we will take advantage of social media platforms to maximise exposure.

I reckon getting on the fitness/protein side of things may attract a few more punters. There's plenty of gym heads around here. Image seems to be everything in pockets of the area.

Well there you go! I'm in Leigh on Sea just off the Broadway - from your description I guess it's on London Road. There'll be tons of passing trade, but is there easy parking for folks 'just popping in' for lunch? Get a big sign making it very clear what you do out front can be the difference between one time visitors stopping at your place or not. Fair few gyms round here, and it's a very image conscious spot although those types are more drawn to the Broadway for the poncier artisan style shops.

[battered]

Type R Tom said:

technodup said:

If you check Youtube you might find a BBC Scotland programme about a guy who tried it in Glasgow. Actual pig in the window, pulled pork galore. Great PR. Lasted about three months. Normal punters don't want it.

There is one in Canterbury doing exactly than and a roaring trade. http://www.porkandco.co.uk/

Right next to the Cathedral so in a great location but equally the overheads are nuts!

And that is all about knowing your market. The super duper £6.50 sandwich taked about earlier may well fly in the City or outside KPMG in Leeds/Manchester city centre where people will spend that. Try the same thing on a provincial street between Theft Converters and Goldmine Amusements, you have Bob Hope and no hope. That street sells fish and chips under a fiver, and locals want the f&c, not the artisanal airdried ham and organic rocket. So we're back to brickies wanting bacon and sausage rolls and yummy mummies wanting posh coffee and a cake. Who do you get more of?

[paulrockliffe]

Thankyou4calling said:

As an example i used to be involved in the snack (crisps) industry. We launched a myriad of flavours, pretty much a new one every month, Prawn cocktail, Mint sauce, Fish n chips etc as they were just spray on flavours.

Under all this pressure from the new flavours, the top three sellers by a mile were, are and always have been :

1. Ready salted
2. Salt and Vinegar.
3. Cheese and onion.

I know someone will come on here and say they like balsamic Vinegar with sea salt. THAT IS SALT AND VINEGAR.

The balsamic and sea salt are much nicer than normal salt and vinegar though, they're a bit sticky and have a lot more taste. Obviously balsamic is incredibly wky, but that doesn't alter that fact.

Anyway, ready salted and cheese and onion sell loads because they're packaged in multipack with proper flavours surely? I've always assumed they must be cheap so the industry was forcing them on us, as no one actually prefers them surely?

Lamb and mint sauce crisps were immense btw. Why can't we have multipacks of proper flavours; Worcester Sauce, tomato ketchup, pickled onion, prawn cocktail, BBQ etc?

Back on topic, my favourite sandwiches are jam and crisp. No where sells jam sandwiches though, they don't even stock a jar of jam just in case. Otherwise, a toasted panini with duck, spring onion and hoisin sauce is OK I suppose.

[ZedLeg]

I would say there's nothing wrong with doing a fancy sandwich as a daily special as long as you cost it properly. If your just going to do ham and egg from the local cash and carry, what's going to differentiate you from the greasy spoon around the corner?

I'd also suggest you make sure to have 1 decent vegan option on the menu. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, falafel and hummus is cheap to make. While a lot of places are more aware of vegetarian options a lot of them will still have eggs/cheese in them.

Also make decent coffee. Again it doesn't have to be gourmet but if you get an espresso coffee machine learn how to use and maintain it properly, burnt coffee out of scummy machines will put people off any day. Even if you don't get an espresso machine, an urn of decent filter coffee is cost effective and people will come for it.

Edited by ZedLeg on Tuesday 16th August 12:10

[BertB]

Type R Tom said:

Can you have a go at smoking your own meat? A pork shoulder overnight would mean awesome authentic pulled pork for lunch!

Near my office there is a butchers/deli (2 joined shops) that do hot roast pork/beef/chicken/turkey (meat varies by day with choice of sauce) and pulled pork sandwiches, the queue is usually out the door.

They also do pulled pork to take away in large polystyrene containers.

[WCZ]

technodup said:

s the right answer.

Bunch of fking wrong 'uns with the previous responses.

Proper prawns, or even better crayfish tails with mayo on a nice foccacia. Very few places do prawns because they don't keep though, not even Greggs. But lots of people like them, prawn cocktail is the most popular starter of all time (so I'm told).

I would mention the Glaswegian crispy roll but not a lot of point if you're anywhere that does those soft bap type garbage.

greggs do a prawn mayo baguette and its pretty good.

[TIGA84]

Go to Marks and Spencer and write down what sandwiches they have everyday, not including summer specials etc. That should give you an idea of what appeals to the masses.

I think keeping it classic and doing it well will be more important, using good ingredients.

BLT
Tuna Mayo
Chicken with Salad or Stuffing
Egg and Cress
Cheese + Pickle or ploughmans
BLT
Prawn Mayo
Ham Salad

Use good bread, be generous and make them in front of the customer, and season them, please please season them to order as well.

Decent crisps, no fancy flavours.

Good coffee, made properly.

Maybe a weekly special of something hot, like a carvery style, like a roast beef joint, carved and served, or pulled pork, but only do them as a special.

[Mr Roper]

You will already have everything there to make decent salad boxes/Ploughmans etc.

Also pastry....Decent sausage rolls, will not hang about.

Scotch eggs too.


I'm hungry.

[Europa1]

Fish fingers, grated cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and tartare sauce in a baguette for me, please.

[technodup]

WCZ said:

greggs do a prawn mayo baguette and its pretty good.

A baguette? Poncy French ste? How very bourgeoisie. And it's full of lettuce.

I like a proper crispy roll of the type you can't get anywhere outside Glasgow. Not even Kilmarnock and that's just down the road. I do like focaccia but again not exactly popular in Glasgow.

Which just goes to prove what works in one place won't work in another. Put it this way, no matter where you are you'll get more requests for ham and cheese, or tuna mayo than you would for hand dived scallops on a bed of gently wilted rocket with a side of lunchtime pretension.

[Thankyou4calling]

I've decided to go into business with Technodup.

My proposal is a sandwich bar with a level of service that might be described as "Fawlty Tower esque"

Every sandwich will be Mothers pride (2 slices) margarine and processed ham. Once a week we will do a special of Mothers pride (2 slices) salad cream and processed ham.

The shop will be called Thankyou4calling.

If anyone would like to buy a franchise please contact us directly :-)

Edited by Thankyou4calling on Tuesday 16th August 16:04

[steelbreeze]

Just asked my two nearest colleagues (one of whom lives in Leigh on Sea) and the results are - bacon and fried egg, and cheese & tomato. My personal favourite is sage & onion stuffing with mayo and roast chicken flavoured crisps on granary bread. Hope this helps!

[technodup]

Thankyou4calling said:

I've decided to go into business with Technodup.

My proposal is a sandwich bar with a level of service that might be described as "Fawlty Tower esque"

Every sandwich will be Mothers pride (2 slices) margarine and processed ham. Once a week we will do a special of Mothers pride (2 slices) salad cream and processed ham.

And (as per the cheese and tomato post above) I bet we'd be in business longer than the someone going down the gourmet hipster pish.

Actually, thinking about it I rate service and cleanliness over variety. Nothing worse than queuing, and then the jakie bh making your piece whilst taking someone's manky old tenner with the same hands. Clean, fresh, quick, with no naff hipster accoutrements and I think we'd be in business. Cheese n ham, cheese n bacon, cheese n tomato, you get the idea. And normal orange cheese, not your extra mature old English farmhouse with hints of fresh blueberry or any other such muck.

[Trabi601]

Type R Tom said:

There is one in Canterbury doing exactly that and a roaring trade. http://www.porkandco.co.uk/

Right next to the Cathedral so in a great location but equally the overheads are nuts!

Which goes to show that a 'roaring trade' doesn't always mean 'healthy profits'.

[Rosscow]

My favourite sandwich when buying 'out and about' would be the Pret New Yorker with beef, gherkins etc.

Delicious!