Fool's Gold is a

sandwich A sandwich is a Dish (food), dish typically consisting variously of meat, cheese, sauces, and vegetables used as a filling between slices of bread, or placed atop a slice of bread; or, more generally, any dish in which bread serves as a ''co ...

made by the Colorado Mine Company, a restaurant in

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, Colorado. It consists of a single warmed, hollowed-out loaf of bread filled with the contents of one jar of creamy

peanut butter Peanut butter is a food Paste (food), paste or Spread (food), spread made from Grinding (abrasive cutting), ground, dry roasting, dry-roasted peanuts. It commonly contains additional ingredients that modify the taste or texture, such as salt, ...

, one jar of blueberry jam, and of

bacon Bacon is a type of Curing (food preservation), salt-cured pork made from various cuts of meat, cuts, typically the pork belly, belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish (particularly in breakfasts), used as a central in ...

. The sandwich's connection to the singer

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

is the source of its legend and prolonged interest. According to ''The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley'', Presley and his friends took his private jet from

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, once owned by American singer Elvis Presley. Presley is buried there, as are his parents Vernon and Gladys, paternal grandmother Minnie Mae, grandson Benjamin, and daugh ...

, purchased 22 of the sandwiches, and spent two hours eating them and drinking Perrier and

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

before flying home. The story became legend and the sandwich became the subject of continued media interest and part of numerous cookbooks, typically focused on Presley's love of food.

Origin

There are two accounts on the origin of Fool's Gold. According to Graeme Wood, it was created by Cindy and Buck Scott, owners of the Colorado Mine Company restaurant. Wood writes that Presley obtained the recipe from the Scotts so his personal chef could make it, but noted that "the Fool's Gold Loaf never made a recorded encore". According to Nick Andurlakis, he helped create the sandwich while he was a chef at the Colorado Mine Company and suggested the dish to Presley. Andurlakis said that he personally delivered the sandwiches to Presley on the night of his visit. The sandwich was named to fit the restaurant's mining motif. At the time of Presley's visit, it cost .

Preparation

The recipe has been repeated by numerous sources, including ''The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley'' and Andurlakis, a chef at the Colorado Mine Company. The Fool's Gold Loaf begins with a loaf of French (which can also be substituted with Italian) white bread that is covered in two tablespoons of margarine and baked in the oven at until brown. of sliced

is fried in oil until crisp and drained. The loaf is sliced lengthwise, hollowed out, and filled with

, grape jelly and bacon. According to Andurlakis, he personally served Presley the Fool's Gold Loaf with bacon, peanut butter, and blueberry preserves on a loaf of French bread. The specific type of preserves was allegedly Dickinson's blueberry preserves.

Elvis Presley connection

David Adler's book contains a detailed account of the event that made the Fool's Gold Loaf sandwich famous. On the night of February 1, 1976, Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie's birthday, Presley was at his home at

in Memphis, entertaining Captain Jerry Kennedy of the

Denver Police Department The Denver Police Department (DPD) is the full service police department jointly for the Denver, City and County of Denver, Colorado, which provides County police, police services to the entire county, including Denver International Airport, and ...

and Ron Pietrafeso of Colorado's Strike Force Against Crime. The three began discussing the sandwich, and Presley decided he wanted one right then. Presley had been to the restaurant before, while in Denver. Kennedy and Pietrafeso were friends of the owners, so they were driven to the Memphis airport and boarded Presley's private

Convair 880 The Convair 880 is a retired American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body jet airliner produced by the Convair division of General Dynamics. It was designed to compete with the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller but faster, a niche that f ...

jet, the ''Lisa Marie'', and flew the two hours to Denver. When they arrived at

Stapleton International Airport Stapleton International Airport was a major airport in the western United States, and the primary airport of Denver, Colorado. It opened on October 17, 1929, and was replaced by the current Denver International Airport in 1995. It was a hub f ...

at 1:40 AM, the plane taxied to a special hangar where the passengers were greeted by Buck Scott, the owner of the Colorado Mine Company, and his wife Cindy, who had brought 22 fresh Fool's Gold Loaves for the men. They spent two hours in the hangar eating the sandwiches, washing them down with Perrier and

. Presley invited the pilots of the plane, Milo High and Elwood David, to join them. When they were done, they flew back to Memphis without ever leaving the airport.

Coverage

The Fool's Gold Loaf connection to Elvis Presley dominates the media's coverage of the subject. It was widely reported as "legend" by the media; including the

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's ''

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'', ''

The Joplin Globe ''The Joplin Globe'' is a seven-day digital edition and five-day print edition daily newspaper published in Joplin, Missouri, United States, covering parts of 14 counties in southwestern Missouri. Ottaway Community Newspapers owned the ''Globe' ...

'', and the '' Gloucester Daily Times''. Doug Clark, a columnist for ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'', recounts the popular story and writes that the Fool's Gold Recipe is "surprisingly tasty" and notes that it contains around . The popular legend and sandwich were also noted by the '' Smithsonian''. The Fool's Gold Loaf has been detailed in ''Ramble Colorado: The Wanderer's Guide to the Offbeat, Overlooked, and Outrageous''. ''The Peanut Butter and Co. Cookbook'' refers to the Fool's Gold Loaf legend and ties it to the

peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich The peanut butter and banana sandwich (PB&B), or peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich (PB,B&B), sometimes referred to as an Elvis sandwich, the Velvet Elvis, or simply the Elvis, is a sandwich with toasted bread, peanut butter, sliced or ...

, also known as the "Elvis sandwich".

References

External links

Video report
about preparation of Fool's Gold Loaf, ''