Now serving: A Cuban sandwich long as a football field
This Sunday, One Buccaneer Place will host a culinary spectacle as part of the Ford Taste of the Cuban Sandwich event: An attempt to create the world’s longest Cuban sandwich.
The event will feature the construction of a massive sandwich using Gayo Azul Swiss Cheese, various meats and condiments. The 360-foot Cuban will be the same length as a football field from end zone to end zone, breaking the 330-foot record set last year in Kissimmee.
Event sponsors are the Ford Motor Company and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The sandwich will be constructed outside the Bucs training facility during practice. Once completed, it will be donated to a local homeless shelter, providing meals for over 750 individuals in need.
The festival is hosted by the Hispanic Cultural Resource Foundation, a Florida-based nonprofit established to help meet the financial needs of the Hispanic/Latino American community by providing grants, education and relief programs.
“We’ve been trying to work with the Buccaneers for many years, so when the Buccaneers came to us and wanted to be a part of the event, we got together and decided we were going to make it a football field length,” said Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla, Vice President of Hispanic Cultural Resource Foundation. “The great thing about the sandwich is the bigger the better, because it feeds the homeless. The sandwich is made Tampa-style with salami, and it’s just a lot of fun because everybody knows it’s going to go to a great cause.”
A Tampa-style Cuban is layered from bottom to top with ham, roast pork, salami, Swiss cheese, pickles and mustard.
The Hispanic Cultural Resource Foundation also hosts Ybor City’s annual International Cuban Sandwich Festival, which brings sandwich connoisseurs from around the world to compete against each other. This past May marked the 13th year for the event, and Gonzalez-Padilla said many of those contestants will be at this Sunday’s event, competing again in a “Winner’s Circle” and letting attendees choose an ultimate Cuban sandwich champion.
Proceeds from the Hispanic Cultural Resource Foundation’s events support the nonprofit’s programs, including grant-making initiatives that help local minority-owned businesses.
“We give them grants to participate in these different events because it helps them get started with their businesses,” said Gonzalez-Padilla. “It doesn’t just stop with feeding the hungry. We want to provide education and opportunity, giving [business owners] a hand up so they can get their names out there, get some media attention and press coverage and really jump-start their businesses.”
The event will offer more than just the record-breaking sandwich attempt, with music by Vaya DJ Johnnie Rivera, free salsa dancing lessons with Sol de Caribe and Revelacion Salsera and family-friendly activities. Visitors will also have the opportunity to taste award-winning sandwiches from previous Ford Cuban Sandwich Festivals.
The Ford Taste of the Cuban Sandwich Festival runs Sunday (July 28) from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at One Buccaneer Place. The event is free and open to the public, with VIP ticket options that include food samples available online.
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