Giant Gatsby sub, nearly 10 feet long, made for ‘greatness’ in South Africa

A giant idea that materialized over a few drinks became a giant reality for a South African bar owner and her husband.

Annie’s Ladies Bar in Cape Town recently served up a giant Gatsby submarine sandwich that measured 9.8 feet long.

With no less than 10 layers of fillings, the sandwich tipped the scales at 145 pounds after it was balanced precariously on a weighing machine using a tray with supports, according to the Associated Press. 

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It took more than four hours to prepare at a cost of about $160 for the ingredients, according to Joe Redelinghuys, who came up with the plan and runs the place with his wife and owner, Annie, the AP said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Redelinghuys for additional information about their giant sub.

Joe Redelinghuys, left, Annie Redelinghuys, center, and chef Michael Steyn, right, pose for a photograph at Annie’s Ladies Bar with a giant Gatsby sandwich on display at the Cape Town, South Africa, establishment. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via AP)

The sandwich, which chef Michael Steyn helped make, was a gigantic take on the Gatsby, a renowned South African takeaway meal that has its own unique history. 

The Gatsby is usually made up of “slap chips” — sloppy French fries — and meat in a chunky bread roll and was traditionally served big enough to feed multiple people, said the AP. It was born in Cape Town in the mid-1970s as a takeaway for blue-collar workers who would cut it up and share it.

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It got its name, the story goes, because “The Great Gatsby” movie starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow had just been released in theaters.

Ingredients stuffed into the Gatsby sub included about 44 pounds of meat, from three types of sliced sausage to steak to burger patties and chicken fillets; 6.6 pounds of tomatoes; three layers of French fries weighing 22 pounds to break up the meats; a layer of calamari for those who prefer seafood; and onion rings to top it off.

The Gatsby sub got its name from “The Great Gatsby” movie starring Mia Farrow and Robert Redford. (CBS via Getty Images)

The sauces ranged from garlic to cheese, pepper, mushroom and tartare, depending on which layer.

Joe Redelinghuys said the biggest challenge was finding a bread roll for it all to fit in. He had to have three 3-foot-long rolls specially baked and put them together.

But giant-sized food is nothing new for the Redelinghuys, who made headlines in 2019 when Annie’s Ladies Bar unveiled a massive burger that weighed in at 273 pounds.

It’s in the process of being recognized as the country’s biggest Gatsby sandwich.

Redelinghuys said Annie’s had recently put Gatsbys on its menu, and talk in the bar one day last month turned to another supersized project.

“So, I said next Saturday I’m going to make the biggest Gatsby in South Africa,” he told the AP.

Redelinghuys said he’s been in contact with South African record officials, and it’s in the process of being recognized as the country’s biggest Gatsby sandwich.

Annie Redelinghuys poses for a picture with the giant Gatsby sub, measuring 9.8 feet long and weighing 145 pounds. (Annie’s Ladies Bar via AP)

There have been other oversized sandwiches in the news throughout the years.

The Guinness World Record for the longest sandwich was set in Lebanon in 2011. Measuring 2,411 feet and 5 inches, or nearly half a mile, the sandwich took 22 hours to make and required three teams of participants to cook and prepare, according to the Guinness World Records website.

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More than 80 people were needed to make a nearly 200-foot-long sandwich in Mexico City in 2014, Fox News Latino reported. 

The gigantic torta sandwich included thousands of pieces of bread, lettuce, onion and tomato – combined with hundreds of liters of mayonnaise, mustard and other sauces, breaking a Latin American record.

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Just last year, a bologna sandwich that measured 150 feet was featured at a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Fox 29 in Philadelphia reported. It contained 600 slices of provolone cheese and 1,200 slices of bologna. 

The sandwich was then divided 900 ways – six sandwiches per foot – for fairgoers to eat.

Volunteers work to assemble a 150-foot-long bologna sandwich at a fair in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in 2023. (Sean Simmers/The Patriot-News via AP)

The world’s largest sandwich ever recorded was made in America. 

The Guinness World Record website reported that Woody’s Chill and Grill in Roseville, Michigan, set the record in 2005 with a sandwich weighing 5,440 pounds. 

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Each ingredient was measured, consisting of 150 pounds of mustard, 1,032 pounds of corned beef, 260 pounds of cheese, 530 pounds of lettuce and 3,568 pounds of bread.

The giant Gatsby is now long-gone after being offered to regulars at Annie’s to share as a snack. By Joe Redelinghuys’ count, it fed about 140 people.

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“We invited a lot of our regular clients” to eat the sandwich, Redelinghuys told the AP. “And they invited friends. And their friends invited friends.”

The Associated Press contributed reporting.