The famous Waldorf salad, which typically contains apples, mayonnaise, celery, and walnuts Oscar Tschirky, known as "Oscar of the Waldorf", maître d'hôtel from the hotel's inauguration in 1893 until his retirement in 1943. Tschirky had arrived in the United States from Switzerland 10 years prior to applying for the position at the new Waldorf, and over the years grew to possess a great knowledge of cuisine.
He authored The Cookbook by Oscar of the Waldorf (1896), a 900-page book featuring all of the popular recipes of the day, including his own, for which he garnered great acclaim, such as Waldorf salad, eggs Benedict, and Thousand Island dressing, which remain popular worldwide today. James Remington McCarthy wrote in his book Peacock Alley that Oscar gained renown among the general public as an artist who "composed sonatas in soups, symphonies in salads, minuets in sauces, lyrics in entrees". Oscar also invented Waldorf Salad, Eggs Benedict, and Thousand Island Dressing also Red Velvet cupcakes in the 1940`sIn 1902, Tschirky published Serving a Course Dinner by Oscar of the Waldorf-Astoria, a booklet that explains the intricacies of being a caterer to the American and international elite. Tschirky had an excellent memory and an encyclopedic memory of the culinary preferences of many of the guests, which further added to his popularity. In 1937, for instance, he recalled the opening night and notable people present at the old Waldorf, a guest at the old building known to the public as Buffalo Bill, and spoke at length about the planning for the Panama Canal that took place at the Waldorf-Astoria.Chop Suey was also invented here for a dinner honoring the Chinese Ambassador in 1896.
