A Gatsby is a South Africansubmarine sandwich typically sold as a foot-long sandwich sliced into four portions. It is a popular sandwich in the Western Cape province, with many fast food and takeaway restaurants, stores and food stands purveying them. One large sandwich may be shared among several people. The Gatsby is also sometimes mistakenly referred to by the nickname AK47, which is a variant of the sandwich made in Johannesburg, in part due to how it can be held in one's arm in a similar manner to the firearm. It has been described as a "filling, budget meal", a standard menu item in Cape Town corner stores, and as a significant part of the heritage and a cultural symbol of Cape Flats, where it originated. Gatsby usually consist of long bread rolls cut lengthwise and opened up to form a sort of cradle which is filled with various fillings. While the choice of filling in a Gatsby varies widely depending on customer preference and vendor, one standard item is usually hot chips, i.e., French fries or slap chips. Hot dog buns and rotiflat bread are sometimes used, and it is typically prepared using a sauce, most commonly achar or piri piri. They are typically a large-sized sandwich, and have been described as suitable for sharing among several people. Different varieties of Gatsbys use meat ingredients such as chargrilledsteak, masala steak, fresh or pickled fish, calamari, chicken, polony, curry, Vienna sausage, Russian sausage and eggs.
History
The Gatsby sandwich originated in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town, where Athlone shop owner Rashaad Pandy was renovating a new location. He wanted to serve a quick but filling meal to his hired help, so he put South-African-style French fries known colloquially as "slap chips," polony and achaar in a large round of bread and cut this into wedges. One of the workers, a gentleman who went by the moniker Froggy, upon tasting a piece of this sandwich, called it a "Gatsby smash," after the 1974 movie, The Great Gatsby, which had been shown recently at an Athlone cinema. The name stuck and Pandy subsequently offered the sandwich in the shop. It immediately became popular with locals. As the popularity grew, he contracted with a local bakery to provide a longer, French-style roll for the sandwich. This is ultimately the form which became hugely popular and eventually became one of South Africa's most well-known fast-foods. Though nowadays the Gatsby takes on all shapes, combinations and sizes ensuring that you stay filled for less with the most popular being a fresh foot long sandwich with French fries with the choice of polony, Vienna, Russian, chicken, fish or steak. As the Gatsby is a large, filling and cheap meal this practice has carried on in modern times with the Gatsby purveyed in full, half and quarter sizes. This practice of combining various combinations of food in a singular meal became popular all around Cape Town and continues to grow in popularity even amongst the wealthier patrons.
Events
In October 2013, an event in Cape Town occurred at a waterfront where chefs prepared a Gatsby sandwich that was over long. A focus of the event was, per its organizers, to create South Africa’s "first official heart-healthy Gatsby." The sandwich was modified to increase fiber content and to lower sodium, saturated fat and total fat, making the sandwich more heart-healthy. Pharma Dynamics sponsored the event.
