By DAVID VITRANO

News Editor

DESTREHAN—It was a sweltering Saturday afternoon, but it wasn’t the heat breaking records on this day. On this particular day Chef Ed Rhinehart set out to break the world record for the longest roast beef po’ boy.

The length to beat was 107 feet and seven inches, and at 108 feet, Chef Ed’s sandwich entered the record books with room to spare.

“It took 65 tomatoes, 76 heads of lettuce, 600 pickles and 120 poounds of roast beef, pre-cooked,” said Rhinehart.

This was no fly-by-night event, either. According to Rhinehart, strict guidelines had to be followed, and a representative from the Guinness organization as well as St. Charles attorney Gregory Miller were on hand to certify the day’s proceedings. But when it was all over, the sandwich was indeed one for the record books.

After receiving its official title, the po’ boy was eagerly consumed by a crowd of several hundred, and a little over an hour later, lettuce scraps and French bread crumbs were all that remained.

Of course, Rhinehart is no stranger to large orders. He often cooks for entire sports teams and he and his staff were recently chosen to cook for the Louisiana Olympians in Baton Rouge before they depart for Beijing later this month.