Chef salad

Chef Salad

Chef salad

Chef salad (or chef's salad) is a salad consisting of hard-boiled eggs; one or more meats such as ham, turkey, chicken, or roast beef; tomatoes; cucumbers; and cheese; all placed upon a bed of tossed lettuce or other leaf vegetables. Several early recipes also include anchovies. A variety of dressings are used with this salad.

Food historians do not agree on the history and composition of chef's salad much less who assembled the first one. Some trace this salad's roots to Salmagundi, a popular meat and salad dish originating in 17th century England and popular in colonial America. Others contend chef's salad is a product of early twentieth century, originating in either New York or California. The person most often connected with the history of this salad is Louis Diat, chef of the Ritz-Carlton in New York City during the 1940s. While food historians acknowledge his recipe they do not appear to be convinced he originated the dish, which is more popularly attributed to either chef Victor Seydoux at the Hotel Buffalo, a Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York or chef Jacques Roser at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City. Roser worked in various culinary positions in Paris before being invited to become head chef at the prestigious 1920s Hotel Pennsylvania, where he worked for over fifteen years.^{[citation needed]} Seydoux first learned his craft in Montreux, Switzerland, and continued his studies in France and England before coming to work in the United States.^{[citation needed]}

Seydoux's first experiences in the U.S. included positions at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton.^[1][2] Although the origin of the salad is not generally known, as reported by Alice Rose Seydoux, widow of Victor, the salad was officially launched at the Hotel Buffalo.^{[citation needed]} Chef Seydoux, who was responsible for running the kitchen on a tight budget, began using some of the small slices of meats and cheese in a salad that he served to select customers.^{[citation needed]} When the customers started requesting it regularly, the hotel decided to add it to the menu. Giving chef Seydoux the honor of naming the salad he is purported to have said "Well, it's really a chef's salad."^{[citation needed]}

The Chef Salad probably owes much of its popularity, according to Evan Jones in American Food: The Gastronomic Story (1975), to Louis Diat, chef at the Ritz-Carlton. Cooking a la Ritz includes Diat's recipe: "Chef's salad. Place separately in a salad bowl equal amonts of chopped lettuce (place on the bottom of the bowl), boiled chicken, smoked ox tongue and smoked ham, all cut in julienne style. Add 1/2 hard-cooked egg for each portion. Place some watercress in the center and serve with French Dressing." Diat did not invent the salad (older recipes exist), but its inclusion on the menu at the Ritz-Carlton would have introduced the salad to more of the public. It's possible that the inclusion of thousand island dressing is also linked to the Ritz, since the hotel also introduced the complex dressing to New York. This recipe, while containing smoked ox tongue, still contains the primary chef salad ingredients: meat, eggs, greens and presentation: julienne sliced meat, and sliced eggs. Several other early chef salad recipes mention crumbling Roquefort cheese over the salad.

References

1. ^ Reppert, Sybil, (November 9, 1933) "Hungarian Goulash is Favorite Hotel Dish, Says Chef Seydoux," Buffalo Times "The Buffalo's chef learned to cook in Montreux, Switzerland, on the Lake of Geneva. He left his native land to go to London. Then he came to America to take a position in New York's Ritz Carlton hotel. He was chef in other New York hotels and in Rochester before he came to Buffalo."
2. ^ Statler Salesmanship (October 1926) "Like most of our Chefs, Mr. Seydoux learned his craft abroad, starting in his own home town of Montreux, Switzerland and finishing his training in the Palace Hotel at Vevey. After experience in some of the best hotels in France and England, he came to America as "Potager" of the Ritz-Carlton in New York City. His experience in this country included position at the Belmont, Waldorf-Astoria and McAlpin Hotels in New York..."

External links

• Jacques Roser, Chef Salad (www.reference.com)
• History of the Salad, including Chef Salad
• Various Chef Salad recipes