What It Takes to Make a Sandwich
By KIM SEVERSON
TAGS: SANDWICHES
Jarrett McGirt, Melanie Boyce and Theara Coleman: once just interns, now famous for their sandwich. (Image courtesy of the Fresh Air Fund)
It is becoming easier for those of us who are conscientious diners to figure out where and how ingredients were grown. But learning the social provenance of food, or, in this case, of a sandwich, is often more challenging.
I recently had a terrific eggplant and chickpea sandwich with a feel-good pedigree. It was invented by three teenagers from New York City who spent a summer learning about the food business as part of a program connected to the Fresh Air Fund. For more than 125 years, the Fresh Air Fund has been providing summer vacations in the country for needy inner-city kids.
The sandwich goes on sale today at the newest ‘wichcraft, in Rockefeller Center. Next week, it will be on the menus at 10 other locations, including one in San Francisco.
At this point, you’re probably thinking a summer working in a kitchen at the chain owned by Tom Colicchio doesn’t exactly sound like a restorative summer vacation in the country. But for these three kids, it was a chance to develop some job skills, earn some money and learn more about eggplant than they ever thought they’d need to.
Their effort also raises money for the Fresh Air Fund. Ten percent of the profit from every $8 sandwich sold will go to the organization. Last year, the first that ‘wichcraft took on inner-city teenagers as interns to invent sandwiches, the company sold 25,000 made from barbecued flank steak, roasted shitake mushroom and grilled red onions.
I sat down with Melanie Boyce, Theara Coleman, and Jarrett McGirt, the three teenagers who created the eggplant sandwich this past summer. We talked about what takes to create food, what they think about the restaurant business and the perils of using too much garlic. Read more …
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