Article snippet: After the Waldorf Hotel opened in March 1893, the writer Oliver Herford quipped that it “brought exclusiveness to the masses.” The same could be said for the famous Waldorf salad, a dish that was made for New York City’s elite but that became, through the 20th century, a staple of Americana. On March 1, the Waldorf Astoria will close indefinitely for renovations, amid reports that only a small portion of the hotel will remain, making way for luxury apartments. Yet the Waldorf salad, which is currently served at two of its three restaurants and on the room-service menu, lives on — in cookbooks, at diners and even at restaurants known for ambitious cooking. The salad, originally a mix of diced apples and celery tossed in a good-quality mayonnaise, was created for the hotel’s debut event, a charity ball in honor of St. Mary’s Hospital for Children on March 14, 1893. The menu was developed by the hotel’s first executive chef, Edouard Beauchamp, and its maître d’hôtel Oscar Tschirky, who became known as “Oscar of the Waldorf.” Mr. Tschirky wasn’t a chef, but he is nevertheless credited with creating the Waldorf salad, having published the recipe in his 1896 cookbook, “The Cook Book, by ‘Oscar’ of the Waldorf.” (The updated version here was given to The New York Times in 1956, accompanying an article about Mr. Tschirky’s replacement, C. C. Philippe. “A juggler trying to keep six plates in the air has it easy compared with C. C. Philippe of the Waldorf Astoria,” it bega... Link to the full article to read more