Waldorf Salad
The original Waldorf Salad was invented in 1893 at the Waldorf Hotel by it’s famous maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky. We’ll discuss the Astor family rivalry that built the Waldorf-Astoria hotel before it was demolished to make room for the Empire State Building. In the late 19th century, grand Hotels emerged as a new location for opulent banquets, fine dining and the perfect place for Gilded Age society to see and be seen. There was no finer gilded age hotel in New York than the Waldorf-Astoria…This stunning hotel has a fascinating origin story with 2 feuding cousins, both heirs to the Astor fortune. Their great grandfather John Jacob Astor was America’s first millionaire, left a $20 to 30 million dollar fortune in 1848…estimated over 100 Billion dollars today. John Jacob Astor IV (went by Jack. Yes that’s Jack Astor…take a wild guess what people called him behind his back) Jack was the only son of Gilded Age society queen: THE Mrs.Astor. He built several hotels over his lifetime including the Astoria side of the Waldorf Astoria, the St. Regis and the Knickerbocker before dying on Titanic in 1912. His rival cousin, William Waldorf Astor, (the Waldorf was the name of great grandfather Astor’s hometown in Germany) William, much more serious, preferred to live in England & even purchased Hever Castle, childhood home of Anne Boleyn. William built the original Waldorf Hotel in 1893….right next to his aunt, Mrs. Astor’s brownstone. Towering over her home, with constant construction, traffic and noise, this was a deliberate attempt to annoy and wage war against his aunt. Not to be outdone, Jack built his mother a 2 million dollar home on 5th avenue and 65th street with the city’s largest ballroom, big enough to accommodate her famous 400. But what to do with the old brownstone? Jack deliberated his next move but ultimately decided that the hotel business was quite profitable…next door to the Waldorf, Jack Astor built the Astoria several stories taller. With a fleet of lawyers the hotels were actually combined into the Waldorf-Hyphen-Astoria…with plenty of contract clauses should the partnership need to be dissolved. Connecting the 2 hotels was “Peacock Alley” (pictured below). This alley was a meeting place for the Gilded Age’s highest society types to see and be seen.
Peacock Alley of the Waldorf-Astoria
The Waldorf Hotel (1890’s) before the merger of the Waldorf-Astoria
The Waldorf-Astoria (1897)
The original salad only calls for celery, apples and mayonnaise. You can use Oscar’s recipe for house-made mayonnaise and a separate recipe of Oscar’s for sugared walnuts. At some point in time in the early 20th century, walnuts and grapes were added but the absolute strictest adherence to the original recipe is simply: apples, celery and “good mayonnaise”. I chose to add Oscar’s sugared walnuts to the salad to make it more like the modern version but he did not combine them.
I followed his recipe but did not peel the apples. I used this ratio: 3 Honeycrisp apples(diced), 3 stalks of celery(diced) to 1/2 cup of mayonnaise.
Oscar’s recipe for “Sauce Mayonnaise”. You can also use store bought mayonnaise.
Oscar’s recipe for Sugared Walnuts. I used his exact recipe but used only egg whites instead of the whole egg he suggested. Make sure to shake off any excess egg mixture before placing on a baking sheet covered in parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 minutes, flip and bake for another 10 minutes.
Waldorf-Astoria Palm Restaurant
Banquet at the Waldorf Astoria 1909