The Most Expensive Sandwich in the World Apr 23, 2006
Selfridges is the name of a big store in central London. There are also Selfridges stores in Birmingham and Manchester. Selfridges is upmarket – that means, many of the things that it sells are exclusive, high-quality or simply expensive. Do Selfridges sell fridges? I don’t know, but if they do, the fridges are expensive ones. There is a food department in Selfridges.
Last week, the food department started to sell a new sort of sandwich. The sandwich contains beef from a rare Japanese breed of cattle, foie gras, unpasteurised brie cheese, black truffles and a number of other expensive ingredients. The sandwich is big – it weighs about 600 grams, and contains 2,500 calories. But the biggest thing about the sandwich is its price – £85. Yes, you heard that right, eighty-five pounds. In a shop just along the road from Selfridges, you can buy two decent pairs of shoes for £85.
The newspapers report that Selfridges sold about 12 of these sandwiches on the first day. Many people have said that this super-expensive sandwich is a gimmick. A gimmick is something which you do to get noticed, often in order to sell something. For example, if you are selling cars, and you advertise that you will give away a free television with every car you sell, that would be a gimmick. Is Selfridge’s sandwich a gimmick? I think it is a very successful gimmick. The whole country now knows that Selfridges sell sandwiches.