The Old-School Salad Dressing With A Recipe That's Nearly Impossible To Pin Down

Retired pastry chef Helen Fletcher says she and her husband used to buy the dressing by the pint. One woman craved it so much during her pregnancy that she made her husband take her to the hotel that made it once a week for dinner. A local blogger fondly recalls her mother and her "gourmet group" making trips into the city to stock up. Why have people gone to such great lengths to hoard Mayfair salad dressing? It turns out the full recipe for the Caesar-like blend has been somewhat elusive. And even 90 years after its supposed introduction at St. Louis' Mayfair Hotel, people are still trying to nail it down.

Like provel, a unique cheese synonymous with St. Louis, and bagels sliced like loaves of bread, Mayfair salad dressing is one of those things unique to the Mound City. "Think of it as a better version of Caesar dressing," Fletcher wrote on her blog. The rich, thick dressing is made with some combination of chopped celery, garlic, onion, anchovies, Dijon mustard, black pepper, lemon juice, and mayonnaise. Other versions call for a hard boiled egg, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and Parmesan cheese, but it's the anchovies that are thought to give the dressing its unique flavor. You might be surprised to learn that Caesar salad originally did not have anchovies. Mayfair dressing is also thought to lean more heavily on garlic and mustard while Caesar has a sharper taste from lemon and Parmesan

The Mayfair Hotel was built in 1925 by Charles Heiss, but the eponymous dressing didn't appear on its dining room's menu for at least another 10 years. Adding to the mystery behind it are the claims by at least three different people who say they created the dressing. One version of the story says the hotel's chef Fred Bangerter first served it as the restaurant in 1935. It was also attributed to head waiter Harry Amos. Charles Potts, who went on to serve the dressing at his Nantucket Cove restaurant, says his father Frank Potts, formerly the treasurer for the Mayfair-Lennox Hotels, was the creator. Heiss himself took credit, saying he came up with it in the 1950s.

Local legend also claims the recipe was handed down from each of the hotel's chefs to their successor, each one promising not to share the secret with anyone. St. Louis restaurant Madrina claims that the recipe was passed directly to its owner. "Which means we're serving it just the way it was meant to be," they wrote on their Instagram. Although the original building still stands, the Mayfair Hotel is long gone. The building was renovated and it reopened as the Magnolia Hotel. It's restaurant Robie's does serve Mayfair dressing. There's no word on whether or not it's the original.