Sandwich Society

Now that I live in Canada, one thing that I really miss about England is the culture of ready-to-eat food. Ready-to-eat food is available at every turn and at every price point in England. It ranges from the £1 likely-to-give-you-stomach-problems prawn sandwich found at a petrol station, to the positively gourmet offerings available at specialised ready-to-eat vendors like Marks and Spencer's Simply Food or, the relatively new, Eat. There you can find sandwiches, salads, wraps, soups, pies, desserts and more, all packaged up and ready to pick off the shelf, pay for and enjoy immediately. Frequent visitors to London will quickly realise that the cheapest way to get a good meal is by visiting one of the many branches of Pret a Manger (which literally translates as "Ready to Eat") for a freshly made sandwich, some homemade soup, a packet of vegatable crisps and a sparkling grape and elderflower juice for less than £10. I have dreams about their all-day breakfast sandwich dipped in chorizo and butterbean soup.

Consider Greggs - purveyors of sweet and savoury pastries, and pre-packaged sandwiches. This bakery chain currently has 1400 outlets in the UK and plans to build 600 more. They had 2009 revenue of £658 million, whilst most items in the store sell for less than £2 (two sausage rolls for a £1 at some locations in the North-West). With twice as many outlets as Starbucks, and 200 more than McDonalds, Greggs has truly conquered the UK high street with its cheap ready-to-eat food (interesting BBC article with more information here).

That is not to say that ready-to-eat food is absent from Toronto. You can find a smattering of sandwiches at your local Second Cup, and the occasional Jamaican beef patty at the local 7Eleven. However, what little ready-to-eat food there is tends to be extremely overpriced, under-satisfying, and of quite a low standard. As a contrast - Starbucks in England devotes about as much space to ready-to-eat savoury food as Starbucks in Toronto does to pastries, muffins, and all of those sweet treats that everyone enjoys for breakfast. And, as for quality, Pret a Manger makes all of their sandwiches on-site every day, using fresh, natural ingredients with no preservatives. Anything that is not sold on the day that it's made is donated to a local shelter for the homeless.

It seems that there are no dedicated ready-to-eat vendors of the same ilk as Greggs or Eat in Toronto. The only thing that seems to come close, in terms of multiple/nationwide outlets and convenience of food, is fast-food. McDonalds, KFC, Wendy's; these are the places that people go to eat quickly and to order from a pre-set menu. And even then there are differences as food is ordered and received rather than picked from a shelf, and it can be personalised whilst ordering (e.g. no pickles) resulting in an order that is made just for you. The basis of ready-to-eat food in the UK is that you get whatever is in the packet and the only way to change that is by picking things out while you eat. Or choosing something different.

It is also worth noting that there are much fewer traditional fast-food chains in the UK. The big two of burgers are McDonalds and Burger King, and the only chicken option is KFC. Add to that to the Canadian list of A&W, Arby's, Harvey's, Popeye's, Taco Bell (to name but a few) and the difference in the convenience food landscape becomes clear. It seems that the ready-to-eat culture in the UK has supplanted the fast food culture and growth in many ways, offering an often healthier but less customisable option at every turn.

This fascinates me - how is it that two societies that are similar in so many ways have diverged completely when it comes to one area of food? And, more importantly, where can I get a good pre-packaged sandwich? Or a piping hot sausage and bean melt with cheese that burns the tastebuds off your tongue and falls apart in your hands?

I think that it comes down to a matter of choice and a difference in expectations over how much choice an individual should/would like to have. One thing that you may not realise about English people (as a generalisation) is that they are not used to being given an unlimited number of options and many people find too many options intimidating. I worked at Subway during university and it was just starting to take off in England. It has been through a remarkable growth since that time, opening roughly 1,000 stores in the UK and Ireland between October 2005 and August 2010. But, at the time that I worked there (early 2005), a lot of people could not buy into the concept of choosing from a wide range of vegetable toppings and sauces. It was an over-facing amount of choice and many would end up with just turkey and mayonnaise with lettuce - poor value for money as any experienced Subway-goer will agree. The expansion of Subway shows that the public has become educated to this type of choice since then but it is certainly not something that comes naturally.


My sister, a highly experience eater, had a similar problem when she visited me here in Toronto and we went to Hero Burger. The list of free toppings, sauces, toppings that you pay for and the different base-burger options was too much for her to handle without preparation. She ended up with a burger in a bun with no toppings at all, much to the dismay of the person serving us who was trying to promote the varied selection of sauces in an attempt to win over a new customer. This overload of information and choice is something that I have gotten used to over time but I still find myself having that hot-faced, flustered, overwhelmed feeling on occasion which results in me giving up on the idea of lunch altogether.


There is a stereotype of English people (or at least I think there is - tell me if I'm wrong) not complaining at restaurants when an order is incorrect because they don't want to cause a fuss. This is certainly something that I am unlikely to do - the embarrassment of complaining and the resulting apologies and wait for a new meal is a lot of bother. Similarly I am unlikely to request a change to a menu item or ask for a substitution at a restaurant for the same reason. I think that too much choice seems like the same sort of fuss at times and it is that which we Brits naturally shy away from

My experience of North Americans, on the other hand, leads me to believe that limited choice would be quite a puzzling and alien experience and would not be well received. Take freshii, for example. Once you have chosen whether you want a salad, a wrap, a bowl or a soup, and you've chosen the base salad/rice/wrap/broth you have 22 free toppings and 28 premium toppings to choose from as well as 17 sauces. Each of these toppings is separated out into its own little pot in a refrigerated counter with a glass front so that you, the customer, can watch as someone scoops a pre-determined amount of each ingredient you desire into your order. Freshii is perhaps an extreme example in terms of the number of options available but how familiar is that image of the glass fronted counter with refrigerated pots of toppings? Ordering a pita, a bagel, a Subway, souvlaki, Druxy's, a hot dog (unrefrigerated), even Harvey's - they all have the same setup. This variety of choice is ingrained in food ordering culture here and that extends beyond the sandwich to substitutions at restaurants, elaborate coffee orders at Starbucks, and the popularity of Korean Grill (which seems to me like paying to cook a meal for yourself but has the benefit of choice and control).

I am sure that the ready-to-eat culture of the UK is something that Canadians and Americans could enjoy in many ways. It is ridiculously convenient, the food can be very good and the price is hard to argue with. But I have the impression that it would be more of a novelty than anything else - something to be experienced occasionally when in a rush, rather than a cornerstone of regular dining. I think that going from a situation of unlimited choice to limited choice would be much harder to come to terms with than an increase in options.

So, ready-to-eat food is perhaps not meant for North American culture. It is limiting in a way that the food culture here has developed away from. And in many ways I think that is a good thing. I love being able to get extra pickled turnip with my souvlaki, cheddar cheese instead of white cheese on my meatball Sub, and a half-sweet tazo chai latte at Starbucks. But I do miss the simplicity of picking a chicken and avocado sandwich off the shelf, knowing that each one there will taste the same, and going to the counter to simply pay for my lunch without any further choices or conversation required. 


JPD