Season 2 (Episode 1): Who Really Invented the Sandwich?

Eating History

The episode explores the historical myth and reality surrounding the invention of the sandwich, specifically focusing on John Montague, the

Key takeaways

• Archaeologists discovered 14,500-year-old charred flatbread fragments in northeastern Jordan.
• John Montague, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, was a prominent British politician active in the 18th century.

Main topics

• The legend of John Montague
• Archaeological evidence of ancient bread

Notable quotes

The bread actually became part of the actual meal.

Conclusion

The episode demonstrates that historical significance often lies in th

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Last time, we asked a surprisingly difficult question. What exactly is a sandwich? And today, we're asking an even harder one. Why does this man, John Montague, the fourth Earl of Sandwich, get credit for inventing the sandwich? Speaker 1 (0:15) Because according to one of the most famous stories in food history, he invented it during an all-night gambling session. So here's what happened. The Earl was playing cards. He got hungry, but apparently not hungry enough to actually leave the gambling table. So instead of sitting down for dinner like a true gentleman, he supposedly asked for slices of roast beef placed between two pieces of bread. And the rest was history. Something he could hold in one hand while keeping the other hand free to play cards. Speaker 2 (0:41) You know, as a chef, I have to admit that that is actually really smart food engineering. The bread keeps your hands clean. It also holds all of the components together. You don't need a plate or utensils. And most importantly for, you know, this gambling Earl, you don't have to stop what you're doing. Speaker 1 (0:59) Exactly. And so according to the story, the other gamblers saw what he was eating and were like, that's a great idea. Start ordering the same thing. Before long, people were asking for, quote unquote, the same as sandwich. And it's really one of the most famous origin stories in culinary history. There's only one problem. Speaker 2 (1:16) That's right. People had been putting food between bread for thousands of years before John Montague was ever born. Which Speaker 1 (1:23) means he definitely didn't invent the basic idea. So why is his name the one that survived? Why don't we call it, let's say, the Hallel or the Pita or the Bao or any countless number of other versions that came before him? Speaker 2 (1:36) Maybe it's because we've been giving him credit for the wrong thing. Maybe he didn't invent putting food between bread, but... maybe he helped turn it into something that people recognized as a sandwich. Speaker 1 (1:48) That's right. And if that's true, then it isn't really a story about who invented a meal. It's the story of how an ancient way of eating became one of the most recognizable foods in history. This is Eating History, Food That Changed the World, a show about the dishes that spread, evolved, and reshaped culture along the way. I'm Stephen Bailey, a history expert who loves to eat. And Speaker 2 (2:07) I'm Chef Adrienne Cheatham, a food expert who loves to history. This season, we're telling the story of sandwiches. Last season, we followed pizza from ancient flatbreads to the streets of Naples to becoming one of the world's favorite and most debated foods. Speaker 1 (2:22) We had so much fun in that season. We did. Speaker 2 (2:23) It was a blast. One of the biggest takeaways was discovering the pizza was not invented in one single moment. people had been making flatbreads for thousands of years before anyone intentionally set out to make something called pizza. This season, we're unpacking a similar mystery because people had been putting food between bread for thousands of years before anyone talked about sandwiches. The classic story is that the Earl of Sandwich invented the sandwich, right, while gambling. But once we started digging into the evidence, the story became much more interesting. Speaker 1 (3:03) Well, I have to say, I am super excited to officially kick the season off with you. And before we get started, we just want 10 seconds of your time. It would really mean a ton to us if you could take a moment to rate and review the show. It helps more listeners discover the show and it helps us keep producing the episodes that we love for you. So get into the story. If we talk about the Earl of Sandwich, the man himself is definitely real. So John Montague was born in 1718. He became the fourth Earl of Sandwich at just 10 years old. And despite getting such an early start, he spent much of his life at the center of British politics. So he served as first Lord of the Admiralty. He held some of the highest offices in government. And he was, by all accounts, a pretty brilliant, hardworking, if not contrarian man. And he was also... a lover of games of chance. Speaker 2 (3:51) And that certainly explains why the gambling story has survived for over 250 years. If you're going to invent a food, note to self, do it during an all-night card game, because apparently that's as memorable as it can get. Speaker 1 (4:05) That's right, it is. But historians have to ask a different question. Not, is it memorable? But what does the evidence actually say? And that's where things get really fascinating. And so by the end of this episode, we're going to resolve John Montagu's true contribution to sandwich history. And it's indeed a very real one in our opinion. But first, we have to leave 18th century London behind because long before there was a word called sandwich, human beings all over the world had already begun making one of history's most important discoveries. Not about meat, not about bread, but about what bread could become. If Speaker 2 (4:38) John Montagu didn't invent putting food between bread, then where does the sandwich story actually begin? It's not in England. It's