Jamie Dornan’s take on a Tayto sandwich involves ham and mayo and we have many, many questions

Jamie Dornan was a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live to promote his recent multi Oscar-nominated movie, Belfast, as well as his new limited series, The Tourist, and the interview got off to a strange start when Kimmell pulled up a recent Instagram photo the actor had posted. 

Celebrating getting his name up in lights on Sunset Boulevard, Dornan shared a photo of a giant Belfast billboard that went up shortly before the movie’s release. If you thought that he was the star of the photo though, you’d be wrong, and your eye is immediately drawn to the left foreground where there are several fluorescent signs. 

“So, that’s the Belfast billboard, it’s on Sunset. I’ve been coming out here for 20 years trying to do this. It’s a big thing,” Dornan explained, before adding, “But yeah it’s beautifully placed behind The Body Shop there.” He managed to see the humour in it though and captioned the photo, “UP IN LIGHTS on Sunset Boulevard!! Never thought I’d see the day. Live nude girls girls girls……. And Parking.”

This prompted a conversation about whether “live nude nude girls is a thing in Ireland”, to which Jamie replied that he “didn’t know of any such establishments” but had heard a rumour about an after-midnight show where “women in their grandmother’s underwear” danced, or something. Like I said, strange. 

It was Dornan’s attempt at making a Tayto sandwich that really has the internet up in arms though – mostly because his “recipe” seems to go against all sense and reason. Tasked with showing Kimmell how to make his favourite snack ahead of Paddy’s Day, Dornan reveals that he’s chosen a “Tayto smashie” – the first red flag. 

He then proceeds to explain what ingredients you need, assembling the sandwich as he goes. “Ideally you find the cheapest white bread you can find. There used to be a bread back home called ‘Mighty White’ which was like sugary death.

“You go heavy on the mayo – both sides – you don’t muck around with light mayonnaise. Then that’s regular ham. The cheaper ham the better. It all comes from the same animal. You go heavy on there. Five or six slices.

“You get Tayto cheese and onion, which is a company in the north of Ireland where I’m from. Their cheese and onion are the best crisps they do. You get the entire packet on there,” he finishes before pushing the two pieces of bread together for that all-important crunch. It’s very important not to cut it, he emphasises before handing the sambo to Jimmy who bites into it and passes it along the assembly line back to Jamie. 

According to Jimmy, “it’s about six times more delicious” than he imagined it would be. 

To be honest, I’m not sure what Dornan made actually constitutes a Tayto sandwich at all though. I mean, he used mayo instead of butter for one. He also added ham? The only thing he got right was the cheap white bread, and Twitter agrees with me as most people have called Dornan out for his take on the classic. The internet also noticed that Dornan used Northern Irish Tayto which differ from Tayto found in the Republic. 

Dear Jamie Dornan, A Tayto sandwich is: Cheese and Onion Tayto, Kerrygold butter (other Irish butters are acceptable, but Kerrygold makes it a true delicacy), in between some white doorstop bread. NO ham. And definitely NO mayo! What the hell man?

— Amy (@CoolBlondeNerd) March 5, 2022

Jamie Dornan putting ham in his Tayto sandwich??????????? IN FRONT OF THE WORLD?????

— Saoirse Ní Chiaragáin (@MiseryVulture) March 5, 2022

Can we ban Jamie Dornan for misinformation ? that is not an Irish Tayto sandwich my dude https://t.co/Zy8bFzZ3SM

— Sho ? (@shob0t) March 5, 2022

Jamie Dornan was on @jimmykimmel last night and made a tayto sandwich with mayonnaise and ham.

Psycho.

— Simon Murdoch ??? (@Simon_Murdoch) March 4, 2022

What’s the difference between them? Well, the former are sold in yellow packets as opposed to the traditional red and blue most would associate with the brand. According to an old Irish Times article on the matter: “Southern Taytos – referred to by Notherners as Free Staytos – are the original (and, according to rock n roll star, Liam Gallagher the best)”. 

Taytos are the best crisps in the universe THE END as you were LG x

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— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) March 26, 2019

Apparently born of an idea by Dubliner Joseph “Spud” Murphy, he was a serial entrepreneur who had already started importing the likes of Ribena cordial and ballpoint pens into Ireland. He started putting out locally-made crisps at a time when they were mostly bought in from the UK and opened the Tayto company in O’Rahilly’s Parade, near Moore Street, in 1954. 

The Irish Times later reports that, together with one of his eight employees, Séamus Burke, Murphy is credited with inventing the now-ubiquitous cheese and onion crisps while working at a kitchen table, experimenting with ideas for flavours. 

Meanwhile, up North, another businessman, Thomas Hutchinson, had also hit upon the popularity of the crisp market and later approached Murphy to do a deal for the rights to the name Tayto and its recipes for outside the Republic. He subsequently set up a Tayto factory at Tandragee Castle and thus Northern Tayto was born. 

So, which is better? We’ll leave that up to you to decide, but it’s clear where Dornan’s loyalties lie.