Club Sandwich mania - Fiore 1827 at Palazzo Portinari Salviati

On Monday 5 February, a dinner party by chef Vito Mollica and the awarding of the best Club Sandwich in Florence

Club Sandwich mania - Fiore 1827, a not-to-be-missed event organised by Davide Paolini one of Italy's most important food and wine critics, Gianni Mercatali a communications guru and Gruppo Editoriale a publishing house specialising in lifestyle publishing, on the occasion of Fuori di Taste.

On Monday 5 February, 13 chefs from the city's most exclusive hotels will challenge each other in the kitchens of Vito Mollica's Atto restaurant in Palazzo Portinari Salviati, while a jury of 12 experts, including journalists, food and wine critics and regulars from the hotellerie, will taste, evaluate and finally decree the best Club Sandwiches.

For all fans of the 'double-decker sandwich', the unmissable moment arrives at 7.30 p.m. in the Salotto Portinari with the prize-giving ceremony, but above all a Dinner Party curated by chef Vito Mollica, who will try his hand at an original and creative menu dedicated to the Club Sandwich and accompanied by wines from the Cecchi family's estates, with a tasting of Fiore 1827 confectionery excellence. The event is reserved and must be booked in advance at a cost of 55 euros.

The Club Sandwich is the world's best-loved and most revisited stuffed sandwich but its origins are uncertain: some say it was invented by the chef of the Union Club in New York, other sources believe it first appeared in the late 19th century in a men's club, in Saratoga Springs in upstate New York, when sandwiches were usually reserved for ladies; for others still, the name originates from the structure of the double-decker coaches (like the slices in the recipe) introduced in 1895 by the Pennsylvania Railroad. What is certain is that this mouth-watering sandwich has, in a short time, travelled from America around the world and this is the right opportunity to taste more interpretations of it here.