Head Box

Christmas is a special time of year for a lot of reasons… the family reunions, the giving of presents, the long-lasting traditions, the smile on the face of a small child after Santa has been, and not forgetting, the Yuletide message of peace and joy that spreads throughout the world on but one day of the year.

However, you can forget about that because there is only one reason I like Christmas, and that’s the annual release of limited edition Christmas sandwiches!!

I am massive fan of sandwiches in general, but once Christmas starts sniffing around during November I know that my luck is in and the high street food chains will be battling it out to take over my taste buds with festive joy.

This is why David (fellow sandwich lover and Headbox employee), and I decided to embark on an epic journey. It started as a bit of a joke… wouldn’t it be funny if we ate all the Xmas sandwiches on offer and tracked our progress on Twitter… this comment quickly turned into a serious plan and a methodology was in place:

• 5 days – 1 high street retailer per day.
• Sandwich must be eaten but other offerings may be consumed.
• After sandwich consumption 140 character review written.
• Sandwiches judged on taste and taste alone. No other factors come into the decision-making process.
• Winner picked at end of mission.

After the rules were laid down we got our stomachs into gear and began the eat-a-thon.

Monday – Prêt-A-Manger
The Christmas Lunch £3.25

140 character review: Big for a 2 slice sandwich & surprisingly sweet. Port & Cranberry sauce a highlight. Onion brings strange crunch. Good stuffing. Nice start

At the beginning of the week David set his stall out early and labeled EAT as the favourite. We made a pit stop to check out the EAT Xmas Full Works in all its glory, however by 1pm on Monday it had sold out. Ominous signs.

Food wise though the week started with a boom as the Pret Christmas sandwich provided an excellent first meal. The moist sweetness from the cranberry and port sauce resonated throughout the sandwich and the unexpected crunch from the onion added another dimension.

It tasted great but deep down in our hearts we knew it wasn’t going to be the winner, it was the tip of the iceberg.

Tuesday – Boots
The Christmas Special £2.80

140 character review: Boots have gone for quantity, not quality. It’s a monster. An Xmas feast as cooked by the ’shameless’ family. Dry, stodgy & unsophisticated.

After the delicacy of Pret’s well-rounded offering Boots hit us with a stodgy punch in the mouth. A concept ‘3 course’ sandwich consisting of 1 x prawn cocktail, 1 x turkey, stuffing and cranberry, and 1 x Wensleydale and cranberry.

It was like eating a cake, there was so much dough and bread that the filling got lost. We were left stuffed, but ultimately disappointed.

Our frustration was lifted thought when rumours started circulating that Marks & Spencer had upped the ante and were doing something a little bit special…

Wednesday – Marks & Spencer
The Christmas Carvery £3.95

140 Character Review: A triumph. Quantity meets quality. Salty Hot turkey & gammon playing off the sweet cranberry, subtly good stuffing. bread choice nice touch.

Wow and I mean WOW. David and I could not believe what was happening before our very eyes at the deli counter in M&S Oxford Street. A Christmas sandwich CARVERY!!!

There were dedicated M&S employees carving hot roast turkey and gammon before placing it inside a baguette, or bloomer (your choice) then smearing it all with lovely cranberry and stuffing… It truly was a Christmas miracle.

Full credit to M&S for pushing the boat out and allowing us to eat a sandwich that smashed typical sandwich boundaries. It really was fantastic.

Thursday – Greggs
Chicken, Bacon & Stuffing Sandwich – £2.45 and a Festive Bake – £1.45

140 Character Review: Horrible. Worst of the week. The bake was a creamy mess and the sandwich was just chicken & bacon with jam thrown in. Awful. Wasted Lunch.

The less said about this the better really… disgusting. They couldn’t even be bothered to put turkey in their Christmas sandwich or bake, no attention to detail.

I was adamant that I would write a letter of complaint, but David calmed me down and reminded me that the next day we would be heading down to EAT and the early favourite would get its chance to shine.

Friday – Eat
The Christmas Full Works – £4.12 (toasted, £3.50 untoasted)

140 Character review: Sensational. Unwrapping the heat proof paper is like a present on Christmas morning. This dense sandwich delivers on all levels. Contender.

Sometimes being the favourite can have a negative effect, it heaps pressure on you and you buckle under the strain. EAT though, did not disappoint.

It was really special and the extra toasting cost was well worth it. On the shelf the Full Works doesn’t look too special but in the mouth it really is splendid.

Even though it was day 5, and we had both had ODed on stuffing, EAT’s quality really shone through and gave us a tremendously difficult decision.

Conclusion

There were 2 clear winners here, M&S and EAT. We couldn’t decided which was the very best so we retired for the weekend knowing that we had to come to a decision on Monday.

It was tough but in the end someone has to win… so, the final decision, in reverse order:

5. Greggs
4. Boots
3. Prêt-A-Manger
2. Eat
1. Marks & Spencer

Yup, M&S’s complete Christmas sandwich experience won it for them. In all my years of eating festive baps I have never seen anything like it. A real, real treat that would give any sandwich a run for its money at any time of the year.

We’re not sure if it is available in all stores but if you can get your hands on it then you will not regret spending the £4. If you can’t find it anywhere then Pret and EAT will provide an adequate substitute.

Congratulations Marks & Spencer you done good.

So now our mission is accomplished and we both feel like we have done something good for the world. If one person decides not to eat anything festive from Greggs then we know it was all worth it.

Thanks for reading and a massive thanks to all of you who supported us on Twitter, it was good fun!

Matt (@headbox) & David (@david_moon)