Sandwich review: Salt Beef, Cheddar & Piccalilli from deli2go

The official description of this sandwich is -

Salt beef, mild Cheddar cheese, piccalilli, lettuce and free range mayonnaise on onion bread

This sandwich was an interesting balance of flavours.  I think, in many ways, deli2go have tried to be too clever here, and some of the tastes simply don't come through - the 'onion bread', for example, added very little which couldn't have been achieved with ordinary wholemeal bread.  However, for those flavours which did announce themselves, nothing was overpowering, and the overall effect was very pleasant.

Despite containing mayonnaise, this was kept to a sensible quantity, and the sandwich was mercifully not overmayonnated.  The salt beef had a nice flavour to it, and the piccalilli was sweet and tangy, and balanced well with the salt beef.  As ever, I would've preferred a stronger cheese, instead of the rather too popular mild Cheddar, but one cannot have everything.

On the whole, I enjoyed this sandwich, and thought the concept, if a little cluttered, still managed to work well as a recipe.

I would buy this sandwich again.

Sandwich review: Chicken, Ham & Cheddar from deli2go, and Smoked Ham & Coleslaw by Marks & Spencer's Simply M&S range

The official description for each of these sandwiches is:

Roast chicken breast, smoked formed ham, mild cheddar cheese, tomato, mixed salad leaves, and English mustard mayonnaise on malted wheatgrain bread (left)

and:

Smoked British ham with shredded cabbage, carrots, onions and mustard in mayonnaise on malted brown bread (right)

Now, I have decided to review these two sandwiches together, instead of individually, for a number of reasons.  Firstly, both fillings include ham - nothing hugely weird about this, of course, but in bought sandwiches bacon is far more normal.  And, secondly, I ate these two sandwiches within a couple of days of each, and was struck by the similarities between the two of them - even if they purport to be vastly different sandwiches.

If I were asked to describe both sandwiches in one word, I would say:  'overmayonated'.  (I know that isn't a real word, but I am hoping it will catch on.)  Both M&S and deli2go have made the mistake of simply lathering their creations in mayonnaise in the hope that this will make them enjoyable.  It doesn't.

The creamy swathes of mayonnaise ensured that the other flavours (which could have been so good) were left sadly muted and subdued.  In much the same way that putting too much milk into a cup of tea or coffee will ruin in, here the flavours of smoked ham, onions and English mustard which should've come bounding strongly through were barely present.

It was a shame that deli2go also chose to use 'mild cheddar cheese'.  A strong cheddar would've saved the sandwich from interminable blandness - as it was, however, the mild cheese simply added to the overall palette of tasteless dairy creaminess, and added nothing to the sandwich save its texture.

On the whole, I was left disappointed by these two sandwiches - either of which could quite easily have been salvaged with stronger flavours and slightly less mayonnaise.

I would not buy either of these sandwiches again.