Whether you call them grinders, subs, hoagies or some other term, the long Italian sandwich will be the focus of the first ever Sub Throwdown later this month, hosted by the New London County Historical Society.

Celebrity chefs, along with a few local chefs, will compete at the Groton Inn and Suites Aug. 20 to make the best sandwich. The public can watch the competition for $20. Or, if their taste buds are up for it, a $40 ticket includes 10 tasting tickets. Proceeds benefit the historical society.

Executive Director Steve Manuel said visitors had been asking what the historical society would be doing to commemorate the Connecticut’s Submarine Century. He had recently found a calendar in an old bookshelf claiming New London as the home of the “submarine sandwich,” and he wanted to conduct more research into the claim for a possible history lecture.

“We wanted to talk about it, but we also wanted to make it fun, so we thought, ‘Why not invite folks to build a submarine sandwich and have a competition?’” he said.

The event will start with a lecture on the history of the famous sandwich. The competition will then feature four celebrity chefs and eight local chefs, and the winners from those two rounds will face each other for the “Coveted Golden Meatball Award.”

The two winners will also be automatically entered into the World Food Championships in Alabama in November.

Competitors include celebrity chefs Jason Maur, Carol Koty, Chad Rapp and Terence Tomlin. Local chefs include Peter Fliri of the Blackhall Grille in Old Lyme, Michael Cummins of the Coast Guard Academy, Andrew Fine of Latitude 41 in Mystic, John Turgeon of the Seehund in New London, and four mystery chefs.

As for the naming discrepancy, the lecture before the competition covers all monikers.

“That’s the point of the lecture, it’s all the same sandwich, and then you have geographical names for it,” Manuel said.

The event will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. on Aug. 20 at the Groton Inn and Suites. Some tickets are available at a military discount for $10. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit nlhistory.org.

a.hutchinson@theyday.com