You can ask anyone in Toronto where the best peameal bacon sandwich is and they will say Carousel Bakery at St Lawrence Market. Celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Anthony Bourdain have stopped by the bakery to try Toronto’s signature dish. Other celebs including Catherine Zeta Jones and the cast of Suicide Squad all rave about the sandwich. We stopped by Carousel Bakery to get a history lesson from co-owner Robert and to find out how they make the best peameal bacon sandwich in Toronto.

Peameal bacon was invented in Toronto by William Davies. Davies emigrated to Canada from the U.K in 1854. He ran a pork processing plant right here in hogtown and had to find a way to preserve pork without refrigeration so he wet cured it and rolled it in crushed yellow peas before shipping it off to the U.K. This is William Davies in front of his pork counter at St Lawrence Market in 1911.

Last year, Mayor John Tory named the Peameal Bacon Sandwich Toronto’s signature dish.

Here is Carousel Bakery co-owner Robert talking about the history of St Lawrence Market.