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'Sandwich King' star Jeff Mauro stops by Manila
By YVETTE TAN
Jeff Mauro, host of the Emmy-nominated "Sandwich King" on the Food Network, stopped by Manila recently to promote the upcoming third season of his popular show.
After answering a few questions and professing his newfound love for pata ("I must have eaten about four pigs' worth of knuckles"), plus a surprise appearance by friend and fellow chef and food show host Aaron Craze, Jeff treated the members of the media to a hands-on sandwich-making demo where he showcased the kitchen skills and gift for gab that won him the title of "The Next Food Network Star" in that show's seventh season.
![](http://images.gmanews.tv/v3/webpics/v3/2013/06/2013_06_18_15_34_09.jpg)
Jeff Mauro and one of his creations. Photo by Yvette Tan
He took his audience through the assembly of a simplified version of his Jewish Brisket Sandwich with Smoked Mozarella, which will be featured in one of the episodes of "Sandwich King's" third season. The sandwich was easy to put together and contained different layers of flavors and textures—soft cheese, firm yet yielding beef, and crunchy and tangy slaw. If anything would break the Filipino misconception of the sandwich as a light snack food, this would be it.
Jeff is particularly proud of creating towering sandwiches that pack in color and flavor without the mess. His three rules for making great sandwiches are, "Keep it simple, keep it colorful, and keep it clean."
Jeff, who graduated from the Hollywood Kitchen Academy in California and has worked in almost every occupation in the food industry since high school, said that the first sandwich he remembered making was a good old Peanut Butter and Jelly. But even though the sandwich contained only two ingredients, Jeff knew that it still had the potential to be something great. "You can make it better by not overdoing the jelly or toasting the bread a little bit," he said, adding, "The obsession started young."
It has also led to his making sandwiches out of the most unlikely meals like Chicken Pot Pie, though Jeff said that the most challenging dish to turn into a sandwich was Chicken Noodle Soup. "Someone dared me to do it. I took a big lasagna noodle, breaded it with panko, and lightly pan-fried it so it was crispy, so you had a crispy noodle that was cooked through. Then I roasted some chicken breast, pulled it apart, sauteed celery and carrots and put that on top, and topped that with mayonnaise made with fresh sage and thyme, so you have the elements of a chicken soup. You taste the chicken soup in it, but obviously, there was no soup. It's a sandwich. That took me a couple of weeks to crack, I think."
Jeff thinks that this rule—that you can make any meal into a sandwich, and any sandwich into a meal—applies with Filipino food as well. "I think that the oxtail [would make a great sandwich]. That's my goal: to leave here with a good idea of how to make the oxtail into a sandwich."
If he succeeds, the Sandwich King might just be the man to turn a nation of die-hard rice eaters into sandwich fanatics. "The best part is that they're all easy to do," Jeff said. "You want to enjoy every bite." — BM, GMA News
The third season of "Sandwich King" airs on Food Network Asia starting June 19 at 8 p.m.
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