Elvis Presley’s Favorite Dessert: “The Peanut Butter Elvis” that he flew out on his Private Jet from Memphis To Denver to eat!

July 4, 2025

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Elvis Presley’s favorite dessert: “The Peanut Butter Elvis” is made of Peanut Butter Mousse & Banana Mousse! I got to experience and eat this very unique and amazing dessert, to be part of the extravagant eating history of Elvis Presley; that was served at the biggest and best buffet in the world, at Caesars Palace Bacchanal Buffet, with 600 items of foods and desserts, for a special menu for July 4th!!

It was a great, one-of-a-kind, and mouth watering delicious combination of peanut butter Mousse, and banana Mousse, that I will always remember! This was only added to the menu at Caesars Palace Bacchanal Buffet for the July 4th celebration! This was my first time ever to experience this great dessert that the legendary singer Elvis Presley loved so much! I have to thank my friend: Ken, for pointing out this amazing dessert for me, since this buffet is so big with over 600 items of food, and unique and amazing desserts- that I missed it! So when I went back again, I took 3 of these desserts, and some others, and took a photo of it to share with you. In the below photo I am posing with all the special desserts that were on the menu for July 4th, that includes Elvis’s: “The Peanut Butter Elvis” –>

This was of course was a smaller version of what Elvis ate, as Caesars serves some smaller portions of food and desserts in their buffet so that you have more room in your stomach to experience their wide variety of over 600 items of amazing gourmet food! So one of these days I will have to fly out to Golden, Colorado, to go to Nick’s Café, to try and eat the gigantic peanut butter and banana sandwich, called the “Fool’s Gold Loaf” that to this day is still served by the same teenage chef who prepared the Elvis’ midnight snack back in 1976, and then later opened his own joint in Golden, Colorado, where he’s been selling the King’s favorite sandwich to Elvis and foodie fans from all over the world! The Peanut Butter Elvis is peanut butter Mousse layered on banana Mousse, and white chocolate cream, with caramel. It is a perfect blend that you would love, just like Elvis did:

It is a true story that back in February 1976 on a Midnight flight Elvis Presley flew to Denver on his private jet- the “Lisa Marie”, and landed at Stapleton International Airport; to satisfy a craving for a “Fool’s Gold Loaf” sandwich from the Colorado Mine Company. He was at his home at Graceland in Memphis, when he decided he wanted the sandwich, and when he arrived in Denver he didn’t even leave the airport, as the owners and restaurant staff delivered the sandwiches to him in the hangar. He and his 22 person entourage ate the sandwiches on the plane, and then flew back to Memphis without ever officially setting foot in Denver!

Elvis Presley was known for eating a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, often referred to as “The Elvis”. Some variations of the sandwich included bacon. Elvis Presley once ate a massive sandwich made with a jar’s worth of blueberry jam, (or sometimes grape jelly), a jar’s worth of creamy peanut butter, an entire pound of crispy fried bacon, and was served in an entire hollowed-out loaf of sourdough bread, to create a cavernous space for the filling, called the “Fool’s Gold Loaf,” according to the Denver Public Library. The Fool’s Gold Loaf is an extravagant creation, designed to satisfy a big appetite!

The novelty item sandwich was named to fit the restaurant’s mining motif. At the time of Presley’s visit, each sandwich cost US $49.95, which is equivalent to $276.01 in 2024! So with a total of 22 people, at $50 a sandwich = $1,100, plus the gas in his jet round trip from Memphis to Denver, and his 2 Pilot’s salary, plus the payments to the owners and staff to bring all that food in the middle of the night- about 2 AM to 5 am, to the Airport where Elvis was waiting in his plane, that must have been over $2,500! So in today’s money that’s well over $15,000, just for some sandwiches!

Elvis made this sandwich famous throughout the world!

The recipe for the sandwich has been published in numerous cookbooks and newspaper stories. It has been sold commercially in restaurants. Elvis Presley’s favorite sandwich, famously associated with Denver, is the Fool’s Gold Loaf. The sandwich legend grew when Elvis famously flew his private jet to Denver late one night to get one.

Elvis Presley’s Legendary Midnight Sandwich Run on his Private Jet!

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On the night of February 1, 1976, Elvis Presley took his private jet from Graceland to Denver and back in one night because he was craving an 8,000 calorie sandwich made from a hollowed out loaf filled with an entire jar of peanut butter, one jar of jelly, and a pound of bacon. Not your average snack, priced at $50, this is the story of how the Fool’s Gold Loaf became the Elvis Presley of sandwiches, King of the PB&Js . . . foolsgold

Late one night at Graceland, Elvis was entertaining his buddies from out of town, Capt. Jerry Kennedy of the Denver, Colorado police force, and Ron Pietrafeso of Colorado’s Strike Force Against Crime. coloradominecompanyresto

The Denver police who worked as bodyguards for visiting celebrities and VIPs like Elvis, would often take the stars to a favorite local restaurant called the Colorado Mine Company (pictured above), and the three men began reminiscing about a particular sandwich on the menu that had left quite the impression on Mr. Presley. So much so that the music icon decided he had to have one, right then and there! ColoradoMineCompany

And just like Cinderella’s pumpkin, Elvis’ private jet was awaiting to take the hungry friends for a midnight snack in Denver.

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Elvis’ private jet, the Lisa Marie, along with the Hound Dog II, now reside as permanent fixtures at Graceland. (See above photo)

The Lisa Marie, a Convair 880 named after the rock legend’s daughter, featuring a red-white-and-blue exterior, gold-plated bathroom fixtures, a stereo system, a conference room and bed, flew two hours to a special hangar in Denver where they arrived at 1:40 AM: lisamarie1

Elvis, pictured leaving the “Lisa Marie.” (See above photo)

There, they were greeted by the couple who owned the Colorado Mine Company, Buck Scott and his wife Cindy, carrying 22 fresh Fool’s Gold Loaves.They spent three hours in the hangar eating the sandwiches, washing them down with Perrier and champagne. Presley also invited the pilots, Buck, Cindy and their young cook Nick Andurlakis, who had prepared the sandwiches, to dine with them on board the Lisa Marie. When they were done, they flew back to Memphis without ever having left the Denver airport!

Aboard the Lisa Marie (See Above Photo)

The sandwich’s connection to the singer Elvis Presley is the source of its legend and prolonged interest. According to The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, Presley and his friends took his private jet from Graceland, purchased 22 of the sandwiches, and spent two hours eating them and drinking Perrier and champagne before flying home. The story became legend and the sandwich became the subject of continued media interest and part of numerous cookbooks, typically focused on Presley’s love of food.

There are two accounts on the origin of Fool’s Gold. According to Graeme Wood, it was created by Cindy and Buck Scott, owners of the Colorado Mine Company restaurant. Wood writes that Presley obtained the recipe from the Scotts so his personal chef could make it, but noted that “the Fool’s Gold Loaf never made a recorded encore”. According to Nick Andurlakis, he helped create the sandwich while he was a chef at the Colorado Mine Company and suggested the dish to Presley. Andurlakis said that he personally delivered the sandwiches to Presley on the night of his visit.

David Adler’s book contains a detailed account of the event that made the Fool’s Gold Loaf sandwich famous. On the night of February 1, 1976, Elvis’ daughter Lisa Marie’s birthday, Presley was at his home at Graceland in Memphis, entertaining Captain Jerry Kennedy of the Denver Police Department and Ron Pietrafeso of Colorado’s Strike Force Against Crime. The three began discussing the sandwich, and Presley decided he wanted one right then. Presley had been to the restaurant before, while in Denver.

Kennedy and Pietrafeso were friends of the owners, so they were driven to the Memphis airport and boarded Presley’s private Convair 880 jet, the Lisa Marie, and flew the two hours to Denver. When they arrived at Stapleton International Airport at 1:40 AM, the plane taxied to a special hangar where the passengers were greeted by Buck Scott, the owner of the Colorado Mine Company, and his wife Cindy, who had brought 22 fresh Fool’s Gold Loaves for the men. They spent two hours in the hangar eating the sandwiches, washing them down with Perrier and champagne. Presley invited the pilots of the plane, Milo High and Elwood David, to join them. When they were done, they flew back to Memphis without ever leaving the airport.

As the story goes, after a 1976 concert, Elvis and his police bodyguards ventured to the now-closed Colorado Mine Company restaurant for a bite to eat. There, he ordered a Fool’s Gold Loaf—a sandwich made with a loaf of sourdough bread, a pound of bacon, a jar of peanut butter, and a jar of jelly.

The peanut butter and banana sandwich has been referred to as a favorite of Elvis Presley, who was renowned for his food cravings such as the Fool’s Gold Loaf, a loaf of French white bread filled with a pound each of bacon, peanut butter, and grape jelly.

Books on Presley’s favorite foods and culinary tastes, as well as other published reports on his taste for peanut butter and banana sandwiches with or without bacon, have made the sandwich widely associated with Presley. It is often referred to using his name.

Presley’s fondness for peanut butter and banana sandwiches is well established; however, bacon is not mentioned in all accounts. A book about Presley and his mother, Gladys Presley, though, says he had “sandwich after sandwich of his favorite—peanut butter, sliced bananas, and crisp bacon”.

Another passage describes him talking “feverishly until dawn” while “wolfing” down the sandwiches (described in this instance as being made with mashed banana).

A news report suggests that, based on renditions of sandwiches named after him, Presley ate his with caramelized bananas and crispy bacon on grilled Hawaiian bread, and grilled by his mother or his cook in bacon fat.

Variants of this amazing meal:

The PB&B sandwich has had numerous variations, many of which were billed as “Elvis Presley’s” or owing to “Elvis” himself.

Hamburgers done Elvis style have become increasingly popular in the United States as well. Nigella Lawson of the cooking show Nigella Bites featured “Elvis Presley’s Fried Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich” in a 2007 episode that was made of white bread, butter, a banana, and peanut butter.

Another cooking show, Sara’s Secrets, featured the “Elvis” with the Peanut Butter & Co.’s recipe, which includes 8 slices of bread, butter, a banana, peanut butter, 12 slices of bacon and honey.

A variant on the sandwich is the peanut butter banana club sandwich, which combines the sandwich with a club sandwich by adding lettuce, brown sugar and lemon juice.Another version of the sandwich, which added honey and substituted bacon bits for bacon strips, was sold under the name The Memphis at the now-shuttered “all peanut butter sandwich” restaurant P.B. Loco. The sandwich has also been featured in a cookbook for canines in The Everything Cooking for Dogs Book. The book suggests alternative fillings including sweet potato, carrots, pumpkin, and apples.

Because of it’s connection to Elvis and its particularly outrageous ingredients, the Fool’s Gold Loaf sandwich became somewhat of a legend in its own and has been included in numerous cookbooks typically focused around Presley’s love of food. The sandwich was originally priced at $49.95, hence its “Fool’s Gold” name, and in later years, it was priced as high as $65.

The Colorado Mine Company has since closed, but if you’re curious to try the famous sandwich, you can still find the real deal. The teenage chef who prepared the Elvis’ midnight snack back in 1976, later opened his own joint in Golden, Colorado called Nick’s Café, where he’s been selling the King’s favorite sandwich for the last 30 years.

He also provides the recipe for Fool’s Gold Loaf on his café’s website, but notes that the specific jam used in the original sandwich, Dickinson’s blueberry preserves, is no longer produced today.

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“This is no ordinary PB&J, folks,” writes Nick, “Eat at your own risk”. Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

o 2 T margarine
o 1 loaf French white bread
o 1 lb / 450 g bacon slices
o 1 jar of smooth peanut butter
o 1 jar of grape jelly

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METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Spread the margarine generously all over all sides of the loaf. Place it on a baking sheet in the oven.

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Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a bit of oil until it is crisp and drain it thoroughly on paper towels.

Remove the loaf from the oven when it is evenly browned, after approximately 15 minutes. Slice the loaf lengthwise and hollow out the interior, leaving as much bread along the walls as desired. Slather a thick layer of peanut butter in the cavity of the loaf and follow with another thick layer of grape jelly. Use lots of both.

Arrange the bacon slices inside the cavity, or, if desired, layer the bacon slivers between the peanut butter and jelly. Close the loaf, slice and eat.

Serves one if you’re Elvis. Serves 8-10 if you’re a regular person!

While the Fool’s Gold Loaf is the most famous Denver-related sandwich, Elvis also enjoyed a simpler peanut butter and banana sandwich with bacon, sometimes referred to as “The Elvis”.

The peanut butter and banana sandwich (PB&B), or peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich (PB,B&B), sometimes referred to as an Elvis sandwich, the Velvet Elvis, or simply the Elvis, is a sandwich with toasted bread, peanut butter, sliced or mashed banana, and occasionally bacon. Honey or jelly is seen in some variations of the sandwich. The sandwich is frequently cooked in a pan or on a griddle.

The Elvis sandwich, also known as the Velvet Elvis, is a fried peanut butter, banana, and bacon sandwich. The King’s version piled thick peanut butter on two slices of bread, layered with mashed or sliced bananas, and topped with bacon. The sandwich was then fried in butter until golden brown. The Elvis sandwich has become a diner menu staple and a favorite among food lovers.

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