Richard Glazebrook and the Coronation Chicken Sandwich at The Sandwich Place in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
Richard Glazebrook and the Coronation Chicken Sandwich at The Sandwich Place in Napier. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Coronation Chicken Sandwich is King at Napier CBD eatery The Sandwich Place as Hawke’s Bay plays its role in marking the Coronation of King Charles III in comparatively low-key fashion compared with the era of his mother’s secession to the Throne 70 years ago.
As May 6, 2023, takes its place alongside June 2, 1953, The Sandwich Place has been enabling customers to mark the occasion with a sandwich, and a free piece of Coronation Cake.
The cake’s distinction is that it’s blue, red and white – with blueberries and strawberries – but the Coronation Chicken Sandwich, a munch of note since that day in 1953, has been on the menu at The Sandwich Place since Richard Glazebrook and his wife opened in Emerson St about 18 months ago, having sold a similar business in Upper Hutt and moved to Hawke’s Bay looking for a new opportunity.
He is from England – Kent, to be precise – but that was 20 years ago and when it comes to royalty and the monarchy, he confesses he’s got no real position either way.
As it happens, the premises now home to The Sandwich Place, had its own semblance of patriotism, known for many years as the National Café.
Glazebrook, a “chef by trade”, says the Coronation Chicken Sandwich – apparently displaced from the culinary throne by HRH preference for quiche in vintage 2023 – was something that was “always there”, thus not needing any particular secret ingredients nor the variant personal touch to the combo of shredded chicken (left over, according to some descriptions), mixed with mayonnaise, yogurt, curry powder and chutney.
In general, signs of Coronation jubilation were not huge in Hawke’s Bay, as they were back in the 1950s, when parades and celebrations were held at the drop of a hat, as the Commonwealth continued its jubilation over the end of World War 2 and rebuilt communities, whether people or bricks and mortar.
In the Napier CBD, or more to the point near the CBD, the Dickens St Cranford Hospice op-shop had a window display with the Union Jack, the St Georges cross of England and some associated items of the era in which the new monarch would be officially crowned.
But at the counter, they confessed no one was particularly a royalist or monarchist, and, as confirmed by a neighbouring retailer, they liked to dress windows in tune with events from time to time.
Local councils picked up the suggestion that trees be planted, and in a civic duty of dedicating plaques at the sites to mark the occasion, nothing, yet, as extreme as naming, or renaming, parks and streets, given that Napier has both King and Charles streets, Hastings as Queen, King and Charles streets, and Waipawa has Coronation Park.
Napier Mayor Kirsten Wise said she’s not aware of any calls for the coronation to be commemorated in such a way, despite plenty of new names being needed for new streets, and having mentioned renaming of streets c2023 takes a lot of account history of the area, with the consultation of local iwi.
Just what we need for a Royal occasion - Annette Davey, at Napier's Tabard Theatre Costume Hire, in Coronation St. Photo / Paul Taylor
But, things were happening in Coronation St, Ahuriri, home to the Tabard Theatre and its associated costume hire service, which lady-at-the-counter Annette Davey said had been busy, particularly in recent days, as people sought regal garb in readiness for the 7pm-1.30am telecasts of the event on the other side of the World – even if one customer had spoken of wearing it while watching the rugby on the other channel.
Most of the good stuff had gone, but there were still a couple of crowns, and, open again on Saturday 10am-3pm, staff will still be able to improvise with Art Deco wear, as was the case with one customer who couldn’t find the right size among the Royal offerings, some of which had featured over the years in such productions as The King and I, maybe.
For the record, and for those interested in varying the evening’s viewing, the Blues play Moana Pacifika at 7.05pm, on “the other” channel, and the Reds and the Waratahs (two Australian sides) are on show at 9.35pm.
The Warriors, in a crucial NRL game against Penrith Panthers, should be out of the way, having started at 5pm, and for those wanting to watch the Taylor Hawks in the NBL the party will be well over in time to watch the game on Sunday.
There will be one particular break in Tv One’s telecast, for five minutes at 8pm for Lotto draw No 2270, with a top Powerball prize of $6 million, given that someone a week or so picked off the right-royal accumulation of $17.2 million.
