By Mark Jones

In the last issue of The Club, we announced the start of a big mission: to find the World’s Best Club Sandwich. We decided that this often-reviled staple of hotel dining needs rehabilitating and reinventing.

We kicked off by asking one of London’s best chefs, the InterContinental’s Theo Randall, to design his perfect Club Sandwich.

It looked pretty good to us. But straight away, we got into trouble.

Blue Executive Club Member Carol Ward wrote to us as follows:

“Absolutely loved The Club, but sorry, I totally disagree with Theo and the Club Sandwich. I have lived in Spain for nearly nine years and I prefer untoasted bread (they always make it with toasted bread here). To me, a really good sandwich has to be good granary bread, spread with a good butter. For the filling, breast of chicken, topped with a lemon mayonnaise (made with extra virgin oil), no tomato, no salsas, no spices.”

We will undoubtedly return to the toasted vs non-toasted furore. In the meantime here is a new take on the classic Club Sandwich by Atul Kochhar of London’s Benares – a pro-toaster, Mrs Ward, I’m afraid. Atul, the first Indian chef in London to land a Michelin star, has form:

“The Club Sandwich is a dish that I made so many times as a young apprentice at The Oberoi New Delhi,” he tells us. “I absolutely adore this sandwich, despite it being quite challenging to make in India. We often had to substitute the bacon or make a vegetarian version of it! I always follow the Oberoi School of Hospitality Management mantra of making a good sandwich – bread, spread and a quality filling.”

The Indian Club Sandwich by Atul Kochhar

Ingredients

3 slices of white bread

1.5 tbsp. homemade mayonnaise

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

2-3 romaine or iceberg lettuce leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

1 egg, beaten (for the masala omelette*, made with onions, chillies and coriander)

1 large vine-ripened tomatoes, skin and seeds removed

100g shredded roast chicken breast, mixed with 1 tbsp. of the mayonnaise and mustard spread

Method

Toast all the slices of bread. Mix the mayonnaise and mustard together to make a spread, and apply a thin layer on a piece of the toasted bread. Place the chicken on the toast and cover with some lettuce leaves. Spread the mustard mayo on another piece of toast and place on top of the chicken. Make the masala omelette by sautéing the onions and chillies first, and then adding the seasoned beaten eggs. Add lots of chopped coriander and cook on both sides. Place the omelette on the sandwich, followed by the remaining lettuce and tomatoes. Finish by topping with another piece of toast spread with the mustard mayo, and place four toothpicks to hold the sandwich in place before cutting into four pieces. Serve with potato chips or fries, ketchup and sweet pickles (cucumber and onions).

Remember, if you’ve found a better Club Sandwich on your travels that deserves to be put in the spotlight, we want to know about it

Have an opinion on The Club that you’d like to share? Let us know

This article has been tagged Food + Drink, Opinion