JULY 30 (Reuters) — An army of chefs in Mexico City on Wednesday (July 29) crafted a 65-metre-long (213-feet-long) monster sandwich – making it the biggest sandwich ever made in Latin America.
Local authorities and dozens of local business rolled up their sleeves to prepare the sandwich – known as ‘torta’ in Mexico.
Thousands of pieces of bread, lettuce, onion and tomato were mixed with hundreds of liters of mayonnaise, mustard and spicy sauces for the local record. Each section of the 1.6 ton super torta had a different flavor cooked up by local chefs.
Organized by local government in the Mexican capital, officials hope the mammoth sandwich will give local businesses that specialize in the Mexican torta an economic boost.
“The objective is to support local businesses which specialize in tortas. Today it’s a complete success, now you can try from all the different businesses that come, and our distinctive mega-torta that you have just have just seen. We’ve broken the record for the largest torta in the world. (Confirmed by the) public notary it is approximately 65 meters and 23 centimeters (213 feet and nine inches) in approximately preparation time of three minutes and 26 seconds,” said local government official, Joana Ayala.
Despite its super size, the sandwich didn’t quite make it into the big league of sandwiches. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest sandwich ever made was in 2005 in the United States and weighed 5,440 kg (11,993 lb), while the honor of the longest sandwich goes to Lebanon with a sandwich over 7.5 meters (2,411 feet) long in 2011.
With large crowds waiting for a taste of the mammoth sandwich, torta lover, Alicia Vallegas, told Reuters the humble Mexican sandwich is undergoing a modern transformation.
“It’s part of our gastronomy on a national level as Mexicans. It’s gone through an evolution and it’s been growing and we have great innovation in the torta, there are many varieties,” she said.
The torta challenge is part of a three-day fair that looks to support the traditional Mexican sandwich and more than 20,000 local businesses across the country dedicated to producing the delicious baguette.
Event organizers expect more than 320,000 visitors during the fair and hope to sell hundreds of thousands of tortas.
