Chef salad
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Chef salad (or chef's salad) is a salad consisting of hard-cooked eggs, strips of ham or another cold cut (such as roast beef, turkey, or chicken), croutons, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese (often crumbled), all placed upon a bed of tossed lettuce or other leaf vegetables. Several early recipes also include anchovies. The dressing on this salad was traditionally Thousand Island dressing, although today it may be served with other dressings.
The chef salad was likely created by chef Victor Seydoux at the Hotel Buffalo, a Statler Hotel in Buffalo, New York. Seydoux first learned his craft in Montreux, Switzerland, and continued his studies in France and England before coming to work in the United States. His 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. 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. 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."
It 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. Its 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.
The chef salad has a fairly tarnished image in the dining community. While some high-end restaurants still feature it, its inclusion on fast food menus and its ubiquitous presence as the only entree salad served in small family-style restaurants gives it a decidedly blue collar feel. In this setting, the salad typically, though not exclusively, includes shredded cheddar cheese, sliced or cubed ham, and boiled eggs over a bed of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber.
The advent of the salad bar has eliminated the chef salad from many menus, because the elements of the salad are offered on the bar.
[edit] References
- ^ 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."
- ^ 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..."
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