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Top Chef's Ted Allen Fires Back on Waldorf Saladgate
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 28, 2008
Modified Mar 28, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 28, 2008
Modified Mar 28, 2008
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On Wednesday night's episode of Top Chef, judge Ted Allen (pictured here with Padma Lakshmi) attributed the birthplace of the Waldorf Salad to somewhere in "middle America," an error that raised the eyebrows of foodies who know the salad's true inventor: Oscar Tschirky, who created it in the late 19th century while working at New York City's Waldorf Hotel (precursor to the Waldorf-Astoria).
Yesterday, Gothamist took the rare step of publishing one of the thousands of "open letters from the grave" we receive on a daily basis, from the ghost of Tschirky himself, excoriating Allen for denying him the culinary credit he so justly deserves. Today Allen responds, presumably after suffering through the first of many sleepless nights haunted by Tschriky's indignant ghost.
All righty, then: touché on your Waldorf Salad open letter—I enjoyed it. Point taken. Yes, the Waldorf Salad was invented by a chef at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. In the 1800s. Which is approximately the last century that anybody with a creative or adventurous palate served it. (Which is not to say that it's not delicious—of course, it very much is.)
But since then, the venerable combo of mayo and apples—like so many dishes that once were innovative and now are clichés—became more the province of, well, the provinces. Such as that from whence I sprang so long ago: Ohio.
Which is why, if you Google "waldorf salad" right now, at this very moment, the second citation you will see is this one.
Defense rests.
Thanks, Ted Allen
On his new website, Allen tells readers how he learned how to cook (practice!) and that he's "all about pork" these days.
Tagged
Chicken Piccata
open letter
Oscar Tschirky
Saladgate
Ted Allen
top chef
waldorf astoria hotel
Waldorf Salad
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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