GULF SHORES – Veteran chef Danny Monbouquette may be a Boston native, but he’s been down South long enough to know how to move sandwiches.

“Of course if you’re frying something and there’s something creamy in the middle of it, that’s a good thing,” Monbouquette said during a break after the lunch crowd on Tuesday.

West Beach Grille’s executive chef was talking about his “Sandwich of the South” contest winner, the signature sandwich of the restaurant, Monbouquette’s Monte Cristo.

On Feb. 28 he competed with just more than 20 chefs at the Merchants Foodservice held their annual Trade show at the Biloxi Coliseum Convention Center. His beer-battered delectable sandwich was declared the winner, earning him $1,000 and bragging rights for the next year.

“Jody (Jonca) wanted to have more of a signature sandwich, not just a burger and I said ‘you like Monte Cristos’ and he was like ‘I don’t think I’ve ever had one,’” Monbouquette said. “I said ‘I’ll show you one, I’m not going to do a traditional Monte, but I’ll do something like a traditional Monte.

When I started it I was thinking I was just going to put flavors together.”

Winning flavors it turns out. And Jody had his signature sandwich, which is now an award winner as well.

“My Monte Cristo’s got grilled chicken, smoked bacon, a jalapeno and tomato aioli, American cheese and a homemade boursin,” Monbouquette said. “The best description of (boursin) would be cream cheese with ranch-style seasonings. We batter fry it and serve it with a little cup of sweet chili pico. It’s a straight beer batter.”

To ensure the sandwich doesn’t fall apart in the fryer, Monbouquette takes some special measures that also add to the tastiness and texture.

“I put it in a vacuum sealer and it draws all the air out so we crush the sandwich,” he said. “But as it cooks and steams up, the moisture that is still inside will let it expand just enough until that seal on the outside fries crisp and then it stops.

"When you deal with the Monte Cristo it’s got to be all closed together because if you drop it in the fryer and any of that oil gets in the sandwich, it’s going to blow open.”

Monbouquette was thrilled to win, and slightly surprised.

“A little bit, yeah,” he said with a grin. “I saw a lot of guys coming in there with a lot more prep work. They had all this stuff lined up, they were putting stuff together.”