Johann Jakob Astor left his birthplace of Walldorf (near Heidelberg) when he was 16. His father did not earn enough as a butcher to feed his many children from two marriages. Johann Jakob first worked in London for his brother Georg Peter, who made woodwind instruments and pianos. He saved the money he earned to emigrate to America. On 24^th March 1784 he arrived in New York, where his brother Heinrich was already living and working as a butcher.

Johann Jakob used his experience from London, started a music business and imported his brother’s instruments from London to New York. The young immigrant was thus able to earn his living. In 1785 he began to trade in furs and earned a fortune with it. With the money he bought property and houses in Manhattan, which he then rented out. Monopoly was his game and he was good at it. When in died in 1848 at the age of 74 he was the richest man in America and left behind a fortune worth $20 million.

Like any Monopoly player his great nephew William Waldorf Aster (an “l” was dropped in the USA) also knew that you could earn more money with hotels than with rental houses. In 1893 he opened the 13-floor Waldorf Hotel on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 33^rd Street. In 1897 his cousin John Jacob Astor IV followed right next door with the Astoria Hotel which was four floors taller. At that time the unified Waldorf Astoria was the largest, tallest and best hotel in the world.

Swiss-born Oscar Tschirky was hired as the chef of the Waldorf Hotel in 1894. Tschirky had previously worked as a luggage handler, waiter and ships steward before starting at Delmonico’s, the most elegant restaurant in New York back then. Sharp tongues have suggested that scrambled eggs were the most difficult thing Tschirky could make. Also, Tschirky didn’t call himself the chef, but the Maître d’hôtel – and is regarded as the inventor of the Waldorf salad, which you can read about in his book published in 1896 entitled “The Cookbook, by Oscar of the Waldorf V2”.

The recipe is actually quite easy: Peel raw celery root and sour apples and cut into fine strips, pour cream mayonnaise over it and sprinkle on walnuts – et voilà. Oscar Tschirky’s creation was enthusiastically accepted into the glamorous world of the grand hotel and is today regarded as the classic party salad.

Countless variations have been developed over the course of the following 100 years, with poultry and boiled ham, with seedless grapes and raisons, with celery stalks, chopped walnuts, yoghurt, strawberries, strips of Parmesan cheese and white truffle oil or puree.

Oscar Tschirky was a man in great demand during his lifetime. He catered numerous big banquets and parties for presidents and kings. But when he was offered the job of Director of the Waldorf Astoria he graciously turned it down. He wanted to stay what he was – especially since his salary was markedly high, even for New York.

In 1928 the Waldorf Astoria on Fifth Avenue was sold for $20 million – in 1827 the son of immigrant Johann Jakob Aster had acquired the house and property there for $20,000. The Empire State Building now stands on this site. In the new Waldorf Astoria opened on Park Avenue in 1931 “Oscar’s Brasserie” is a reminder of the talented inventor of the Waldorf salad.

Waldorf Salad

Ingredients:
Serves 4

125 g mayonnaise
80 ml cream
salt
cayenne pepper
sugar
lemon juice
500 g celery root
3 sour apples
50 g walnut halves

Instructions:
1. Stir in mayonnaise with the cream. Season with salt, cayenne pepper, sugar and the juice from half a lemon.

2. Peel celery and apples and cut or slice into fine strips. Lightly salt the celery strips, sprinkle on a bit of lemon juice and let stand for 10 minutes. Also sprinkle the apple strips with a bit of lemon juice so they don’t turn brown.

3. Mix celery and apple strips with cream mayonnaise and let the salad stand for 30 minutes. Season to taste and serve with walnut halves spread across the top.

Tips: The salad will be more tender if the celery strips are blanched first. If you’d like to lower your calorie intake, use yoghurt instead of cream. The salad will taste a bit fruitier if other fruit (e.g. pineapple or grapes) is mixed in.