National Cheese Toastie Day – 15th September 2023 – National Cheese Toast Day is celebrated every year on September 15. This flavorful combination born in California is a favourite around the world. It is so simple and very filling. You can even add some toppings to it if you want, but even a simple good old piece of cheese toast works the trick and is the key to many people’s hearts.
Whether you’re enjoying it with fan-favourite fillings such as cheddar, ham, tomato and chutney, dunking it in soup or dipping it in mustard, it’s time to give this age-old snack the recognition it deserves.
This food delight was created by Del Johnson in 1958 when he opened his first Sizzler restaurant. Obviously, it became an instant success and a fan favourite. The original cheese toast was created using egg bread topped with a parmesan cheese mixture. Later, the chefs started using white egg-based bread followed by French bread with a margarine base. The dish became so popular and now it is even enjoyed outside of the United States in Australia, China, Japan, and Thailand.
Tamra Scoggins, a chef at Sizzler even created a special lunch sandwich called “The Malibu Melt” for Cheese Toast fanatics. This dish combines a double portion of Sizzler’s signature Malibu Chicken between slices of crispy cheese toast. This is topped with pickles and a special Honey Malibu Sauce.
Over the years, there have been variations to the classic recipe, however, the core of it remains the same. It is so versatile that it can be eaten as an appetizer or with soup or salad or as a main course. In 2015, to honour the success of this dish, Sizzler USA founded National Cheese Toast Day. To celebrate this day, Sizzler restaurants typically give out free cheese toast at several locations. You can also head to one of their restaurants to try out the original cheese toast or simply make your own.
Americans have their grilled cheese, the French have the Croque monsieur but Brits have the king of them all, the mighty cheese toastie! It’s claimed that people have been enjoying this dish in one way or another since Ancient Roman times and it’s brought comfort to many for generations before us, so it’s about time it got the recognition it deserves as we celebrate one of our finest dishes with its own dedication.
The first Welsh rarebit or Welsh rabbit, a form of cheese toast, first appears as a dish in 1725. The world’s largest cheese on toast is made in Leicester, the United Kingdom in 2010.
NATIONAL WELSH RAREBIT DAY – 3RD SEPTEMBER
The first and most important thing to understand is that rarebit is not a word that is used in any other context. It only exists next to the word Welsh when referring to the dish Welsh rarebit. There’s no rarebitting involved in making Welsh rarebit and no rarebits are harmed during the cooking process.
There are many meals, drinks and dishes that have a National Day named after them, possibly the most famous being pancake day. But every 3rd September is National Welsh Rarebit Day which is celebrated the world over, but with great fervour in Wales.
The origin of the name is uncertain, but it’s generally believed that the word rarebit is a corruption of the word rabbit. ‘Welsh rabbit’ first appeared as a dish in 1725 and later in many “Eighteenth-century cookbooks. It is thought that the dish was attributed to the Welsh because of their historic fondness for cheese, which was used as a substitute for meat as a source of protein by poor peasants. Welsh Rarebit is described by some as ‘posh cheese on toast’.
Or possibly it was to indicate how much the Welsh were said to enjoy hot cheese. There was even a medieval joke to that effect, that St. Peter was so tired of the noise from the Welsh people in heaven he tricked them into believing there was a roasted cheese just outside the pearly gates, and when they all ran out to get some, he locked the gates. It was probably funnier at the time !
Source: National Day Felin Fach
