英牛肉三明治成快餐鼻祖？

　　Yesterday he tasted it again, though this time it was free. Which was just as well, really, since the rare ingredient, imported from Japan, was the gourmet filling in Britain's most expensive sandwich - a speciality which goes on sale from tomorrow at the Sandwich Counter at Selfridge's, in Oxford Street.

　　So who better than Giorgio, now a celebrity chef and the owner of Locanda Locatelli, the Michelin-starred restaurant, to give it a taste run?

　　"It's big, isn't it,' he says, gazing at the sandwich's creator, Scott McDonald, Selfridge's executive chef, who, with the practised dexterity of a professional, slices the 21oz sandwich in two. "It'd better be, mate," says Scott, "it's ?85 for a round."

　　But is the costly cut worth it? Well, Giorgio was certainly impressed. "Delicious," he says, struggling not to lose any of the succulent beef as he tries to get his mouth around the sandwich. "Utterly fantastic mixture of tastes. Tangy, sweet... a monster mouthful that would be a really sexy love food to share with a lover. The beef simply melts, it falls apart. I'm impressed."

　　Scott looks relieved. Even though ?85 for a lunchtime sandwich is likely to be way beyond the means of most shoppers, he is convinced that City types won't balk at the price.

　　But just why does it cost so much? The quality and quantity of the ingredients give some indication.

　　The slices of 24-hour fermented sour dough bread are spread with a mayonnaise flavoured with foie gras (?30 a lb) and black truffle (?340 a lb). There is a generous helping of brie de meaux, considered Europe's finest cheese.

　　The beef itself, comprising a third of the weight of the sandwich, is a snip at ?28 a pound. The meat is seared in a pan on both sides for two minutes and then basted with yet more foie gras before being chilled for 15 minutes and sliced.

　　English cherry tomatoes and rocket, plus peppers roasted on a naked flame and then skinned and sliced finely, complete the presentation.

　　"Stunning assembly, the perfect meal to go, if a bit dribbly. And the perfect hangover food,'' says Giorgio, who should know - he celebrated his 43rd birthday the night before with "a couple of drinks and then a few more''.