Max Halley makes a sarnie, revealing the secrets of the best recipe
t’s crunchy, salty, tangy, herby, soft and fragrant – the ideal combination for a sandwich.
But this is no average sandwich. This is a sandwich made, in front of me, by Max Halley – sandwich expert, Sunday Brunch regular and owner of cult North London restaurant, Max’s Sandwich Shop (what else would it be called?).
At Max’s Sandwich Shop, you won’t get a few cold cuts slammed between slices of bread. Instead, Halley’s approach to sandwiches is far bigger and bolder – his mantra is well summed up when he says bluntly: “It’s a meal, not a snack.”
The sandwich Halley, 41, makes for me is fried spring rolls inside fresh focaccia, with a funky
Ivegan mayonnaise, kimchi mixed with sauerkraut, sesame seeds and a whole lot of fresh herbs, called That’s How We Spring Roll.
It’s absolutely delicious, and very much a meal. Like many sandwiches Halley has created, the filling isn’t typically what you’d have between two slices of bread – other of his creations include the lasagne sandwich or the shop’s bestseller, the ham, egg and chips.
“I tend to think of dishes and plates of food, then think about how to turn those into a sandwich – because sometimes if you try to think about a sandwich, you end up just making a deli sandwich,” Halley says.
“Trying not to think about sandwiches is oddly the easiest way to come up with more creative sandwiches… That was what I wanted to do when I opened [back in 2014], I felt like the sandwich had been a bit neglected. Someone should think a bit more creatively about it.”
With a culinary background, Halley had the opportunity to open a restaurant a decade ago, and could have “opened a small plates, modern European restaurant trying for a Michelin star – like a great deal of other people do”, he says, but that didn’t quite suit his boisterous personality.
“I wanted to take the thing that had mass appeal, but had been a bit neglected. And I thought: it’s sandwiches.” This was particularly crystallised after a “sandwich pilgrimage” to New Orleans, where among all the classic dishes like po’ boys, he had a stewed roast beef sandwich which completely changed his perspective.
But back to Max’s Sandwich Shop, where Halley is putting together my dish.
“I guess sandwiches begin with bread,” he winks. Despite looking like a fairly humble sandwich shop, a lot of work goes on behind the scenes – including fresh bread made daily for every sandwich.
“One loaf makes 10 sandwiches and on a Saturday, we will do 450 covers or something like that,” Halley says, which means the team is “banging out 45 loaves on a Saturday”.
One question that occupies a lot of space in Halley’s brain is simple: what is a sandwich? For him, it’s all about playing “fast and loose” with the concept, which is particularly seen in his new cookbook – his third – called Max’s World Of Sandwiches.
World Of Sandwiches by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton is published by Hardie Grant Books, priced £25.