Chef salad

Chef salad(orchef's salad) is anAmericansaladconsisting ofhard-boiled eggs, one or more varieties of meat (such asham,turkey,chicken, orroast beef),tomatoes,cucumbers, andcheese, all placed upon a bed of tossedlettuceor otherleaf vegetables. Several early recipes also includeanchovies. A variety ofdressingsmay be used with this salad.
Food historians do not agree on the history and composition of chef's salad. Some trace it tosalmagundi, 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 the early twentieth century, originating in either New York or California. The person most often connected with the history of this salad isLouis Diat, chef of theRitz-Carltonin 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 eitherchefVictor Seydouxat the Hotel Buffalo, aStatler HotelinBuffalo, New Yorkor to chefJacques Roserat theStatler HotelinBuffalo, New Yorkand later at theHotel PennsylvaniainNew York City. Roser worked in various culinary positions inParisbefore being invited in 1922 to become head chef at the Statler Buffalo Hotel, where he first named his meat-based salad a "Cook's Salad".  Roser joined the prestigious Hotel Pennsylvania around 1926, where he worked for over fifteen years. Around 1928, he renamed the salad a "Chef's Salad"Seydoux first learned his craft inMontreux,Switzerland, and continued his studies inFranceandEnglandbefore coming to work in theUnited States.
Seydoux's first experiences in the U.S. included positions at theWaldorf-Astoria Hoteland the Ritz-Carlton.Alice Rose Seydoux, widow of Victor, claims that the salad was officially launched at the Hotel Buffalo.When the customers started requesting the off-menu salad made with cuts of meat, cheese and hard boiled eggs, 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."
The chef salad probably owes much of its popularity to Louis Diat, chef at the Ritz-Carlton.Cooking a la Ritzincludes Diat's recipe, which includes a base of chopped lettuce topped withjuliennedboiled chicken,smokedox tongueand smoked ham, then garnished with hard-cooked egg halves andwatercress, all dressed withFrench Dressing. The inclusion of this salad on the menu at the Ritz-Carlton would have introduced the salad to more of the public. It is possible that the inclusion ofThousand Island dressingis also linked to the Ritz, since the hotel also introduced the dressing toNew York City. Several other early chef salad recipes mention crumblingRoquefortcheese over the salad.
The first known printed recipe dates to 1936and includes many ingredients found in later recipes, but no meat.A 1926 recipe already includes the garlic-rubbedsalad bowl.In a note following the recipe, the author recounts the following story:
"Cook's Salad" appears on a Statler Hotel Buffalo carte du jour menu dated December 1926.
"Cook's Salad" appears on a Statler Hotel Buffalo dinner menu dated July 1928.
"Chef's Salad" appears on a Hotel Pennsylvania (NYC) dinner menu dated September 1929.