With Winter embracing Squamish in its cold arms, the toasted sandwich maker at VentureWeb HQ has seen more action than Bill Gates's keyboard, and with that usage has risen a competitive interest in the makings of the best toasty. And so it came to pass that the first quarterly VentureWeb Toasted Luncheon Competition (#vwtlc09) took place on Wednesday, 25th November 2009.

Developer Chris Bovard took the Golden Sandwich with his effort, which made use of a mild garlic butter on the outside of the bread, with Account Manager Gill Bexton coming a close second (0.25%) with a flatbread homage to American Thanksgiving feat. Cranberry Sauce. In truth, the real winner was teamwork, and no-one went home empty handed, or with an empty stomach to boot. Here's a breakdown of what was served up:

• AJ Barlas delivered delicious tzatziki infused Rye sandwich, evoking his rich Greek heritage and evoking the poetry of Homer, Socrates and Hipponax through the medium of toasted bread.
• Julie Morris, a last minute wild-card entry, took us on a journey to the Italian Alps and set our tastebuds dancing to the sound of Alpen horns and leiderhosen with a Focaccia, Ham, Cheese and Basil number.
• Chris Bovard was simple yet ruthlessly effective with his freshly prepared sandwich with Garlic butter treatment, which pleased the crowd much like how a U2 concert might please people with no sense of tune or rhythm, or the beheading of a royal might please the peasants of mediaeval England. We all enthusiastically chomped his sandwich down and proceeded to Crown him Prince of Sandwich.
• Gillian Bexton took 3 steps forward and no steps back with a magnificent combination of flat-bread, Orange Pepper, Feta Cheese and, wait for it, Cranberry Sauce which pleasingly satisfied the gathered tasters in a way only Cranberry Sauce can. A homage to our neighbours south of the border, it may be something we have to consider recreating for our upcoming VentureWeb Christmas party. Special mention must be made of her presentation plate - a delightful turquoise platter that only served to heighten the experience and, well, serve the sandwich.
• Oliver Walker took a risky bread-choice, opting for a classic french baguette. The choice paid off after being flattened under a 20lb of printer paper an hour prior to toasting. A beef, pastrami and 2 cheese number with a touch of strong mustard, his sandwich was intended to whisk people back to their childhoods, and whisk them he did; back to better times of snow-angels, elasticized mittens through the back of jackets and oversized wellington boots. Werthers Originals were served as an accompaniment.
• Jim Morris delivered a Briexplosion of taste, texture and flavour with another Focaccia toasty. I recall seeing tears of joy roll down the faces of a number of the tasters as small bite after bite was taken of Jims masterpiece. Presentation was a strong points earner for Jim, with the delicate placement of shredded basil, the mounding of Alfalfa Sprouts and the teasing of Tomato slices distributed across the plate.

Everyone toasted, tasted and tallied up their points, with Chris coming out as overall winner. But as I have mentioned, the real winner was teamwork, and the humble toasted sandwich - who can surely be expecting a trip into the limelight and a resurgence into the mainstream lunchtime diet of the thousands of avid VentureWeb blog readers.

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