It’s no hoax. The record-breaking prosciutto sandwich is real, and really good. On Saturday, September 14 at FICO Eataly World, Bologna’s food-centric theme park, an epic event took place, involving hundreds of people and a tremendous amount of food.
The sandwich was prepared and laid out over 25 tables arranged on the bike path inside the park. It took nearly 90 pounds of flour, 7 gallons of water, 1 pound of salt, 4 1/2 pounds of starter yeast, and 4,200 slices of Prosciutto di San Daniele (that’s 110 pounds!).
Hundreds of spectators got a little foretaste of victory, watching the master bread-making experts from Il Forno di Calzolari work from 7 AM to create the crispy, super-long bread. And of course, they couldn’t leave on an empty stomach. Once the bread was stuffed with mouthwatering slices of San Daniele prosciutto, it was sliced and served to the devoted yet famished guests. Foot by foot, bite by bite, the sandwich disappeared right before everyone’s eyes and into the stomachs of the tough taste-testers. No food was wasted. In fact, at the end of the event, what was left over was given to Bologna’s Open Group social cooperative. If anyone could do it, we knew FICO could!