“You can build the most beautiful, modern house, but if it’s on a rocky foundation, it’s going to fall over; same thing with sandwiches.”
This is how celebrity chef Jeff Mauro described his secret to a good sandwich.
Mauro, a Chicago native, built a career around the city’s classics like Italian beef. On Thursday, he brought the beef to Williams Dining Hall’s grand opening with his signature Home of Da Brave sandwich. Mauro’s return to Bradley University was 25 years in the making.
Before becoming a Food Network star and Sandwich King, Mauro was a Brave studying radio and television.
“I remember moving into Geisert Hall on the seventh floor and just how long it, you know, took to wait for the elevator and take it up,” Mauro said.
Some things never change.
Back then though, Mauro’s fraternity, Sigma Chi, had a house overlooking the quad. Here, he recalls some of his favorite memories hanging out with his brothers.
“We had a beautiful vantage point right on campus and as soon as the weather turned in the spring we’d take a couch out there, listen to music and suntan and just enjoy it,” Mauro said. “Those moments aren’t easy to achieve when you’re out of school, so relish every one you have while you’re here.”
After graduating, Mauro opened a deli with his cousin. He’d make soups and salads during the day while continuing to pursue the theater arts at night. This combined passion for food and performance drove Mauro to attend culinary school and audition for “Food Network Star,” the reality show that gives you a shot at making your own show.
The fourth try was the charm for Mauro, when at last Bobby Flay determined his sandwich to be one of the best, ever, and crowned him the Sandwich King.
His flavorful “buncased meats” have been a highlight throughout his on-screen career, which helped him create the Home of Da Brave.
“I formulated this beef about five years ago, just to be the best, right? It’s very near and dear to me … so I created this as kind of an homage to where I came from and where I am now,” Mauro said.
If one thing’s for sure, it might be that this beef is the best in the business.
“There’s juice dripping out of it, the peppers are delicious,” Katie Luker, a senior music and entertainment industry major, said. “The beef is really the highlight of the sandwich, it kind of melts, and with the bread there’s a good ratio.”
Yes, the bread, the irreplaceable foundation of any sandwich. Mauro, and now Bradley, source the bread from the Toronto family straight out of Chicago. Bradley’s transition to fresher, local foods piqued Mauro’s interest when returning to campus.
“I just got excited that they were investing in the food culture here,” he said. “I think it’s so automatic that kids expect a good dining experience, fresh food, you know, beautiful food.”
This step towards a more balanced dining experience encourages healthy living on campus.
“There’s so many facilities now that I saw here where you can start a day with a little sweat on a workout or a walk in the sunlight. I think that’s a good foundation, like the bread to build your day on,” Mauro said.
Now, after a relaxing morning stroll across campus, students can settle into lunch at Williams and enjoy Mauro’s sandwich on a rotating schedule. The dining hall is hosting numerous other events throughout the semester, including an Oktoberfest celebration later this month.
Mauro’s return to Bradley shows that, while time passes and paths change, the foundations we build here stay with us, sometimes in the form of really good bread.
