Some recipes tell you everything you need to know about the person who created them. This mortadella sandwich from chef Anthony Bourdain is one of those recipes.
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There are some people whose food recommendations you trust without question. Anthony Bourdain was one of mine.
Long before I attended culinary school or cooked professionally, I picked up a copy of Kitchen Confidential as a teenager. Until then, I’d mostly thought of cookbooks as instruction manuals and food writing as something practical rather than literary. Bourdain made me realize it could be something else entirely. It could tell stories. It could transport me. It could make me laugh out loud on one page and desperately hungry the next.
Over the years, I’ve read my way through his books and watched every episode of No Reservations and Parts Unknown. So when I realized I’d somehow gone all these years without making the sandwich recipe he considered among his favorites, it felt like it was finally time to fix that.
As it turns out, the sandwich is exactly what I’d expect from Anthony Bourdain: unfussy, deeply satisfying and proof that incredible food doesn’t have to be complicated.
What was Anthony Bourdain’s favorite sandwich?
Anthony Bourdain’s mortadella sandwich appears in his 2016 cookbook, Appetites. Inspired by a sandwich he ate in São Paulo, Brazil, his version is refreshingly simple: a toasted Kaiser roll slathered with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, piled with pan-fried mortadella and melted provolone cheese.
The ingredient doing most of the heavy lifting is mortadella. It’s often described as “Italian bologna,” as bologna is the American descendant of this Italian deli meat. Still, the comparison isn’t doing mortadella any favors. Authentic mortadella is made from finely ground pork that’s studded with cubes of pork fat and seasoned with spices that give it a delicate but savory flavor. The texture is silky rather than rubbery, and when it’s heated, those pockets of fat soften into something almost buttery.
On paper, the recipe is surprisingly ordinary. For those of us who followed him closely, though, it makes perfect sense. Anthony Bourdain taught me that great food didn’t have to be expensive or exclusive. Throughout his career, he celebrated neighborhood diners, roadside stands and hole-in-the-wall restaurants with the same enthusiasm he brought to Michelin-starred dining rooms. Technique mattered. Quality mattered. But pretension never did.
How to Make Anthony Bourdain’s Mortadella Sandwich
Step 1: Toast the roll
Start by splitting and toasting a Kaiser roll.
Spread mayonnaise on one half and Dijon mustard on the other.
Step 2: Pan-fry the mortadella
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat and add a few generous stacks of thinly sliced mortadella. As they cook, the slices will shrink, wrinkle and curl around the edges while the fat renders in the pan.
Flip the meat once, then top it with slices of provolone during the last minute or two of cooking so the cheese melts.
Step 3: Bring it all together
Transfer the hot mortadella and melted cheese straight onto the toasted roll and serve warm.
This Is What Anthony Bourdain’s Favorite Sandwich Tastes Like
It probably won’t surprise anyone to hear that Anthony Bourdain knew exactly what he was doing here.
Pan-frying the mortadella completely transforms it. The edges become crisp and caramelized while the center stays tender, and the rendered fat gives every bite a richness that never feels greasy. It’s one of those rare ingredients that’s somehow delicate and indulgent at the same time. The provolone melts into the layers of meat, while the Dijon’s acidity quietly cuts through all that richness without taking over.
What I loved most was how restrained the sandwich felt. There are only a handful of ingredients, and every one of them has a purpose. Nothing is trying to impress. Nothing is there because it’s trendy. It’s simply an exceptionally well-balanced sandwich built from a few humble ingredients.
After making it, I understand why Bourdain kept coming back to it. For someone who spent a lifetime chasing unforgettable meals around the globe, it’s fitting that one of his favorite sandwiches wasn’t elaborate at all. It was just thoughtfully made and incredibly delicious—the kind of sandwich that reminds me that simple food is often the hardest to improve upon.
