| Eggs Benedict is a much loved breakfast food. It | | | | was Eggs Benedict. The commodore claims that |
| is made by toasting a whole English muffin then | | | | the recipe had been given to him by his mother |
| topping that with ham, Canadian bacon, or bacon | | | | who had received it from the commodore's uncle. |
| as well as poached eggs. The whole thing is then | | | | In November of 1967, Mabel C. Butler of Vineyard |
| drowned in hollandaise sauce. | | | | Haven, Massachusetts responded to Mr. |
| Much like many popular foods, the origins of Eggs | | | | Montgomery's letter with a correction to the |
| Benedict are unknown. In one account, retired | | | | story that was the "true story" of how Eggs |
| Wall Street stock broker Lemuel Benedict | | | | Benedict came to be. In Ms. Butler's story, the |
| wandered into the Waldorf Hotel in 1894 and | | | | creation of Eggs Benedict was well known to the |
| requested "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp | | | | relatives of Mrs. Le Grand Benedict, of whom she |
| bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise" in an attempt | | | | was one. According to Ms. Butler, Mr. and Mrs. |
| to find a cure for his morning hangover. The | | | | Benedict, who were residents of New York at |
| maître d'hôtel Oscar Tshirky, the | | | | the turn of the century, dined every Saturday at |
| legendary Oscar of the Waldorf, was immensely | | | | Delmonico's. One day while there, Mrs. Benedict |
| impressed by the dish and so put it on the | | | | wanted to know if the maître d'hôtel |
| breakfast and lunch menus. Rather than using | | | | had anything new or different to suggest. He then |
| bacon and toast, he substituted ham and an | | | | asked Mrs. Benedict to make a suggestion so she |
| English muffin. This account was given in an | | | | suggested poached eggs on a toasted English |
| interview in the "Talk of the Town" column of | | | | muffin with a thin slice of ham, hollandaise sauce, |
| The New Yorker in 1942. | | | | and a truffle on top. |
| In another account, Craig Claiborne, a writer for | | | | While all of these stories are wonderful, it is most |
| The New York Times Magazine, described in a | | | | likely that the dish is a Lenten or meatless dish |
| September 1967 column a letter received from | | | | possibly dating to the Renaissance. It is a |
| Edward P. Montgomery, an American living in | | | | traditional French dish, most likely, and a variation |
| France at the time. In the letter, Montgomery | | | | of oeufs bénédictine. This dish |
| detailed a dish that was created by Commodore | | | | consists of brandade, a purée of |
| E.C. Benedict. Commodore Benedict was a banker | | | | refreshed salt cod and potatoes, spread on |
| and yachtsman who died in 1920 at the age of | | | | triangles of fried bread. A poached egg is then |
| 86. The dish created by Commodore Benedict | | | | placed on top and napped with hollandaise. |