The culinary creation, made for Yonkers Arts Weekend, weighed more than 30 lbs.
NEED TO KNOW
- A.J. Chiarella collaborated with local businesses to create a 30+ lb bacon, egg and cheese sandwich for Yonkers Arts Weekend
- The sandwich featured a 17-pound bagel, 250 eggs, and 45 slices of cheese and fed about 40 people
- Chiarella says the project united local businesses and brought positive attention to the community through a fun event
A bacon, egg and cheese sandwich weighing more than 30 lbs was presented in all its glory at a New York arts festival on Sunday, May 17.
A.J. Chiarella, owner of the 914 Collective, collaborated with Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company and Yonkers Brewing Company on the ambitious culinary creation for Yonkers Arts Weekend.
"I've been thinking about the idea of doing New York's largest bacon, egg and cheese for over a year,” Chiarella tells PEOPLE.
“Two years ago, I did the world's shortest parade, and then last year I did the world's shortest marathon,” he adds. “And so this was on my bucket list of more records to break.”
Credit: Courtesy of A.J. Chiarella
He soon learned that bread would be the biggest challenge to create such a huge sandwich.
"I had made several calls out to multiple bakeries about doing it, and I quickly learned that they don't make sheet pans that big,” he says.
“I was trying to get a custom-made sheet pan made for it,” he continues. “No pun intended, I guess, but that didn't seem to pan out for me.”
When he reached out to Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company, which runs a Westchester location in Mamaroneck, he says one of the owners was “instantly excited” and sent a photo of an 18-inch bagel the following day.
Credit: Courtesy of A.J. Chiarella
“Anybody can make 250 eggs and a bunch of bacon, but making a giant bagel like that is not easy,” Chiarella notes.
Their final product ended up being more than 20 inches. The bagel alone was 17 pounds, he says. The giant sandwich also included 250 eggs and about 45 slices of cheese.
Yonkers Brewing Company provided the fillings for the sandwich.
“Getting the cheese to be a little more melted was one challenge, though it still tasted really good,” he says.
Credit: Courtesy of A.J. Chiarella
The sandwich ended up feeding about 40 people at the event after he unveiled it with Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano.
While Guinness World Records doesn’t have an entry for the largest bacon, egg, and cheese, Chiarella says he found an eatery in Queens, N.Y., that makes a 20-pound sandwich with 110 eggs and aimed to go bigger.
However, Chiarella says the best part of the project was the “team effort” of uniting local businesses with the city for an event that’s “fun and brings community out and gets positive attention for everyone involved.”