Egg Fact: Benedict Origin

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Will the real inventor please stand up?

Image source: Wikipedia; collated by Brunch on Joy
Inventor 1
Elias Cornelius Benedict (late 1800s)
A banker and yachtsman, Elias wrote this recipe back in his day and passed it down through the many generations. It was eventually published by a reporter in the New York Times in 1967.

Inventor 2
Charles Ranhofer & Mrs LeGrand Benedict (1860s)
A Chef working at Delmonico's Restaurant published the recipe "Eggs a la Benedick" in his cookbook, The Epicurean. It was based on his creation at the request of a regular customer, Mrs LeGrand Benedict who wanted something new for lunch.

Inventor 3
Lemuel Benedict & Oscar Tschirky (1894)
A wall street broker suffering from a hangover stopped by the The Waldorf Hotel and ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon and a hooker of hollandaise. Oscar, the maitre d'hotel loved it and added his version onto the menu.

So who invented the good old eggs benedict?
Interestingly, the claim to fame are by these New Yorkers in the late 1800's. Let's let them fight over who the real inventor is while we just keep enjoying our eggs benedict.

Breakfast Club, London 2014
Visit my page dedicated to Eggs Benedict - for all the lovers out there

References
Was he the eggman? New York Times
History of Eggs Benedict, The Turtle Restaurant
History of Eggs Benedict, History and Women
Eggs Benedict, Kitchen project

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1 comments

  1. I love Benedict and I never knew this about them! Thanks for the interesting trivia!

    ReplyDelete