Sandwich success

HAYDEN - Edwina Gadsby is so close to success, she can taste it. Literally.

Her deliciously original Asian barbecue pulled chicken sandwich has landed her in the top 12 of Oroweat's America's Better Sandwich Contest, a national challenge to test the creativity, originality and flavor know-how of sandwich chefs across the nation.

"I was pretty excited, it was kind of an early morning call, and it just made my day," she said. "I was really surprised and it was good news."

She received the call from a contest representative early this month telling her she was a finalist in the creative classic category. Creative classics put a spin on traditional sandwiches, such as clubs and BLTs, and turn them into something innovative.Gadsby's creation brings an Asian flair to the beloved pulled pork sandwich.

"I make a low-fat Asian slaw quite a bit," she said. "It's kind of a twist on a pulled pork sandwich with slaw."

Ingredients include shredded chicken mixed with rice wine vinegar, honey, coleslaw mix, cilantro, hoisin sauce and an optional jalapeno for those who like it hot.

"I think what kind of makes my recipe a little unique is how simple it is," Gadsby said. "It'sreally user-friendly. There's very few people who couldn't whip it up in 10-15 minutes."

She nestled the flavorful ingredients between slices of an Oroweat Sandwich Thins honey wheat roll.

"I wanted the honey wheat as a little bit of sweetness with it," she said. "I thought it was the best choice."

The Oroweat contest has three other categories: 'fueling good,' 'stealthily simple' and 'meatless marvel.' Countless sandwich creations arrived from across the country during the entry period, which opened July 23 and ended Aug. 22. Entries were judged on nutritional quality of ingredients, flavor profile and ease of preparation.

The second tier of judging included the top 100 semi-finalists, 25 from each category, which were once again evaluated on the same criteria.

Gadsby's sandwich took a bite out of the competition and scored high enough to become a finalist, alongside 11 other entries from states such as Florida, Texas, Hawaii, New Jersey and Alaska. Now that she is in the top tier of judging, her entry will be prepared by sponsor judges according to her recipe instructions and will be evaluated on taste, creativity, nutritious analysis and online voting.

Gadsby said she is feeling pretty good about the odds because she has a 1 in 3 chance of winning the $5,000 category prize and a 1 in 12 chance of winning the $25,000 grand prize. Although she has had no formal culinary training, she has been entering recipe contests for many years and has taken home prizes from more than 300 national cooking contests.

And the Oroweat brand has a special meaning for Gadsby.

"Oroweat was my mother's choice of breads," she said. "I did grow up with it."

Online voting for the America's Better Sandwich Contest is open until Oct. 17. Oroweat will announce the winner on Nov. 3, which is National Sandwich Day.

To vote, visit www.americasbettersandwich.com.