Who came up with eggs benedict?
What do eggs benedict, sachertorte and insalata caprese have in common? Every single one of them was invented in a hotel.
I can imagine it’s the dream of every bartender or chef: to come up with something—a cocktail or a dish—that becomes so popular it travels all over the world and ends up on countless menus. The only downside is that, over time, no one remembers where it came from. So, credit where credit is due: five classics that were ‘born’ in a hotel.
Eggs Benedict – Waldorf Astoria New York
You can’t open a brunch menu these days without seeing them on it: eggs benedict. Oscar Tschirky, maître d’hôtel at the luxury hotel in New York, came up with the idea when a guest, Lemuel Benedict, asked him for a hangover cure. Tschirky served him buttered toast with poached eggs and bacon, all smothered in hollandaise sauce. Et voilà: the beginning of eggs benedict. Tschirky also came up with that other mega-classic: Waldorf salad.
Bloody Mary – St. Regis New York
This hangover classic was invented in 1921 by bartender Fernand Petiot. He combined tomato juice, vodka, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce and called it Bloody Mary, after Hollywood actress Mary Pickford. In 1934, Petiot began working as a bartender at the St. Regis Hotel, where he put the cocktail on the menu as Red Snapper because they considered the original name too vulgar. Regular guest Serge Obolensky ordered the cocktail but asked for it ‘spiced up’, so Petiot added Tabasco sauce. A stroke of genius: by now, the drink is the signature cocktail of all St. Regis hotels.
Insalata Caprese – Grand Hotel Quisisana
Of course, plenty of Italian grandmothers must have been serving the golden combination of mozzarella, tomato and basil long before that, but the salad became known as Caprese thanks to a dinner at the Grand Hotel Quisisana, on the island of Capri, in the early 1900s. The dinner was held in honour of poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism. Since he didn’t care much for traditional Italian cuisine, the chefs deliberately created the most patriotic dish they could think of: using typically Italian ingredients, and in the colours of the Italian flag to boot.
Singapore Sling – Raffles Hotel Singapore
This pink beauty was invented by Chinese bartender Ngiam Tong Boon, who worked at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel from 1899 to 1915. The cocktail is now considered Singapore’s national cocktail, but it was originally created for women. At the time, women weren’t allowed to drink in public, so Tong Boon devised a cocktail that looked like fruit juice, thanks to the cherry liqueur and grenadine, but was secretly packed with gin and liqueur. Cheers!
Sachertorte – Hotel Sacher Vienna
The Austrian cake came about in 1832 thanks to a classic case of good luck in disguise: Prince Metternich’s court wanted a dessert prepared for their guests. But the chef de cuisine was ill, so his apprentice, Franz Sacher, had to take on the task. He created—so the story goes—‘a magnificent cake that left nothing to be desired’. Later, when Franz’s son Eduard opened Hotel Sacher, he became the imperial court’s supplier. The recipe is still kept in a safe.
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