Celebrity caterer reveals the secret to the perfect chicken sandwich

Use double the mayonnaise and NO crusts: Celebrity caterer reveals the secret to the perfect chicken sandwich

• Caterer doyen Peter Rowland shared the secret to the perfect chicken sandwich
• The 81-year-old catering king said it comes down to making the filling ‘sloppy’
• The soft white bread, triangles are filled with a ‘double amount of mayonnaise’
• The chicken breast must be ‘slowly poached’ and the bread slices are buttered

Caterer doyen Peter Rowland has revealed the secret to the perfect chicken sandwich – and it comes down to making the filling ‘sloppy’. 

The catering king has been serving his iconic canapé at the Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day for the past 50 years.

‘The stuff inside the sandwich must be sloppy. I want it to be sloppy,’ Mr Rowland told Good Food.

The 81-year-old – whose famous recipe hasn’t changed since 1962 – said to make his soft white bread, mayonnaise-laden triangles, the chicken breast must be ‘slowly poached’.

The Peter Rowland Group has been serving its iconic chicken sandwiches at the Flemington Racecourse on Melbourne Cup Day for the past 50 years

Peter Rowland (pictured) has revealed the secret to the perfect chicken sandwich – and it comes down to making the filling ‘sloppy’

Peter Rowland’s mayonnaise recipe

• 2 egg yolks (room temperature)
• 2 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dijon mustard
• 250ml (1 cup) olive oil (or blend of olive and vegetable oils)
• Salt and pepper 

Method: 

Put the egg yolks, one teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, one teaspoon of mustard and a pinch of salt in a blender and blend for a few seconds.

With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the oil and when it has all been incorporated, add one tablespoon hot water and remaining lemon juice or wine vinegar and mustard.

Season with salt and pepper. Add more mustard or lemon juice according to taste

He said the sandwiches should never be served with crusts.

Next, the bread is lightly spread with butter and then filled to the edges with homemade mayonnaise, which is flecked with chopped chives and parsley.

‘The big secret was, and my tongue’s not in my cheek, put double the amount of mayonnaise that you think you should. That was the big secret of the chicken sandwiches,’ Mr Rowland said.

Speaking to 3AW’s radio duo Ross and John, Mr Rowland said he came up with his own recipe after he was fed up with eating ‘dry’ chicken sandwiches.

‘No one ever made them how I wanted them,’ he said.

‘When we started making them they always tasted dry like airline sandwiches. I said, “look, just put double the amount of mayonnaise in them and make them floppy”.

‘Mayonnaise is the trick, and, of course, a few other things – extra butter. Everyone’s too skimpy on the butter.

‘It was as simple as that and they were fantastic.’

The Peter Rowland Group is expected to serve more than 20,000 chicken sandwiches at Melbourne Cup on Tuesday – enough to circle the race track twice. 

‘The chef tells me you can run them around the track twice, end-to-end, whatever that means,’ he said. 

The group executive chef of Peter Rowland Group, Matthew Haigh, previously told the Good Food the chicken sandwich continues to remain ‘timeless’. 

‘While some food trends have come and gone, the chicken sandwich has stood the test of time and shows no signs of losing its popularity,’ Mr Haigh said.

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