According to the British Sandwich Association, we eat on average 200 sandwiches each a year, with the top 20 fillings including chicken salad, chicken and bacon, ploughmans and, for the first time this year, Hoisin Duck.   The British sandwich industry is worth approximately £3.5 billion in commercial sales, with an additional £3.86 billion being spent on lunch box sandwiches (sandwiches made at home and taken to school or work for consumption). And with an industry which employs 320,000 people and uses 98 million loaves of bread, a week of celebrating the British sandwich is surely not much to ask.

Bread and other food have been eaten together since bread was created in neolithic times. As far back as 1^st Century B.C. the rabbi Hillel the Elder is documented as having wrapped Paschal lamb and bitter herbs in a matzah (a flat, unleavened bread) during Passover. This was more of a wrap, but certainly a good start, and the Hillel Sandwich still lives on.

Trenchers where the next noted development. In the Middle Ages, thick slices of stale bread were used as the first, eco-friendly disposable plates. Once the food piled on top had been eaten, the bread, sodden from having absorbed the juices, grease and sauces, was either eaten or given the the dog or the poor. Again not quite the sandwich we know now – more the beginnings of the open sandwich much loved in Scandinavian countries.

Or beloved “twice slices of bread and a filling” type meal is widely credited to John Montague, 4^th Earl of Sandwich (1718 – 1792). The first written record of the word "sandwich" appeared in Edward Gibbon's (1737-1794, English author, scholar, and historian) journal on November 24, 1762. Gibbon recorded his surprise at seeing several of the most noble and wealthy gentlemen, seated in a noisy private gaming club off Pall Mall, dining on cold meat or sandwiches, eased down with strong punch.

"I dined at the Cocoa Tree....That respectable body affords every evening a sight truly English. Twenty or thirty of the first men in the kingdom....supping at little tables....upon a bit of cold meat, or a Sandwich."

Lord Sandwich was a hardened gambler and usually gambled for hours at a time in his private club, sometimes refusing to get up even for meals. Rumour has that he ordered his valet to bring him meat tucked between two pieces of bread, which allowed him to eat without getting grease on his cards. Others began to order "the same as Sandwich!" The original sandwich was, in fact, a piece of salt beef between two slices of toasted bread.

Whilst the hardcore gambling story is a great one, it is accepted that John Montague was a workaholic, and at the time was a cabinet minister and First Lord of the Admiralty. It is argued that the sandwich concept was more likely to sustain him through long nights at his desk rather than bawdy nights at a smoke filled cribbage table.

Which ever version you choose to believe, there is no doubt that the sandwich is British. In celebration, the British Sandwich Association and sandwich designer, Mark Arnold have created a triptych to the ham sandwich. Using only the best British ingredients, the Great British Hammie triple pack will be in shops over British Sandwich Week 2009, 10-16 May 2009.

But as a little treat, here's how you can make them yourself.

Smoked British Ham with Chive Cream Cheese and Cucumber

Ingredients:

• 2 Slices of White Bread
• 30g Cream Cheese
• 1 Tbsp Chives, Chopped
• 5 Slices of Cucumber
• 3 Slices of British Smoked Ham

British Gammon Ham with Mustard Mayonnaise

Ingredients:

• 2 Slices of Granary Bread
• 14g Mayonnaise
• 1 Tsp English Mustard
• 3 slices of British Gammon Ham
• Small Handful of Shredded Lettuce

1. Mix the mayonnaise with the mustard and spread on both slices of bread.
2. Lay the Gammon Ham over one slice.
3. Scatter the lettuce of top and cover with the second slice of bread to complete the sandwich.

British Gammon Ham with Egg and Watercress

Ingredients:

• 2 Slices of Granary Bread
• 1 Hard Boiled Egg, Sliced
• 3 Slices of British Gammon Ham
• Watercress
• British Butter, Softened for spreading

1. Spread the butter over the two slices of bread.
2. Lay the egg slices onto one slice of bread.
3. Cover with the Gammon Ham and top with some watercress.
4. Cover with the second slice to complete the sandwich.