Pepitos

Apart from being a diminutive for the name “Pepe”, the word “pepito” is defined as “a sandwich containing a steak” in the Spanish dictionary. This is thanks to a certain Mr Pepito, a usual customer of a café in Madrid during the early 20th century. This customer requested to be served a beef steak inside a piece of bread, a combination that impressed other customers, who started asking for a sandwich “just like Pepito’s”, giving the dish its particular name.

Through large volumes of people moving there from afar, Venezuelan people have learnt to adapt foreign flavours and made them their own — having their own unique versions of dishes such as hamburgers, hot dogs… and pepitos, thanks to Spanish immigrants.

“A proper pepito must have ‘Canilla’ bread, a shorter version of a French baguette…”

It was then when this dish started developing a personality of its own — making the pepito a king of Venezuelan fast food, to the point where people accept it as a regional dish.

A proper pepito must have “Canilla” bread, a shorter version of a French baguette, and excessive quantities of sauces such as corn, garlic, barbeque, cheddar or blue cheese, mustard, tartare or even bacon — all of them in their own small bottle.

Every Monday is Pepito Monday at Latinway – a filled pepito with Latin Ice Tea (papelón con limón) for just £5 – find out more on the Latinway menu.