Before he became chef director of London’s Salt Yard Group, Ben Tish started his career making Club Sandwiches at The Ritz London. Here, he shares his experiences of the room-service staple and tells us how he’d give it his own Spanish twist

I began my career at The Ritz London, so I’ve had first-hand experience of making Club Sandwiches at a five-star hotel.

I eat them mostly while travelling because when you’re jet lagged and tired, you crave salt and comfort food – and the Club Sandwich is perfect for that.

The Ace Hotel New York does a great one. It’s fresh and uses good-quality ingredients: the chicken breast is pan-fried and moist, the bacon thick-cut and the mayo homemade and, most importantly, the toast is crisp. A lot of hotels go wrong when they put the sandwich under a metal dome – this steams it and makes it soggy. And that’s why it gets a bad reputation.

With the Spanish leanings of my restaurants, I would give it a twist by adding jamon iberico de bellota – cured ham from black-hoof pigs – and grating some aged manchego cheese to make it super deluxe. The bread has to be fresh and white, with the outer layers thick-cut and the middle thin. The bread doesn’t have to be super fancy because I wouldn’t want it to detract from all the other flavours.

Ben’s Spanish Club Sandwich
(Serves one)

Ingredients

2 slices thick-cut white bread

1 slice thin-cut white bread

Soft unsalted butter

2 tsp homemade mayonnaise mixed with a little Dijon mustard

2 leaves baby gem lettuce, shredded

1 large soft-boiled, free-range egg, crushed with a fork

½ free-range chicken breast, skin on and pan-fried in olive oil and butter, sliced

3 rashers smoked, thick-cut bacon, grilled

8 slices jamon iberico de bellota

Small handful of grated, aged manchego cheese

1. Toast all the bread slices until golden brown. Lightly spread all sides with butter.

2. On one slice of the thick toast, spread some mustard mayonnaise, then add half the gem lettuce, half the egg and all the sliced chicken.

3. Place the thin slice of bread on top and spread the remaining mayo on it, add the remaining lettuce and egg, then the grilled bacon and the jamon. Top with the remaining toast slice.

4. Heat a non-stick pan to a medium heat and sprinkle in half the manchego. Add the sandwich and cook for two minutes until the cheese browns and gratinates.

5. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on the other side of the sandwich and carefully tip over and repeat the cheese-gratinating process.

6. Remove from the pan and cut into two diagonally. Serve skewered with two frilled cocktail sticks – the classic way – and crisp French fries.

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This article has been tagged Food + Drink, Opinion