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--> --> Oct. 9: Vichyssoise ain't French By Jeff Cheek Some foods sail under false colors. Our Thanksgiving bird is American, but we call it turkey. Jerusalem artichokes are not artichokes, and they do not come from the Near East. And almost everyone assumes a chilled leek and potato soup called vichyssoise is a famous French dish. Wrong again. Vichyssoise was invented in 1910 in the kitchen of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Madison Avenue and 46th Street in New York. It was a special creation to celebrate two events: The first was the opening of the hotel's roof garden. The second was a party for steel magnate Charles Schwab. Schwab was one of the wealthiest tycoons in America, and his patronage would be invaluable. The Ritz-Carlton had been built by legendary hotelkeeper Cesar Ritz. His partner was Chef George Auguste Escoffier, who set up the kitchen in each new hotel Ritz constructed. But Escoffier was not a culinary snob. While supervising the Ritz-Carlton kitchen, he tried many local American dishes. He complimented many, but lavished praise on three: Chicken Maryland, soft shelled crab, and terrapin soup. Chef Louis Diat had been trained by Escoffier and was head chef at the new hotel. Escoffier had a special genius of creating new dishes to honor some celebrity, such as Peach Melba for opera star Nellie Melba, or Chicken Tetrazzini for another famous diva, Louisa Tetrazzini. Chef Diat decided to create a new dish to mark the opening of the roof garden. Diat was from the village of Bourbonnais, about 20 miles from the spa of Vichy, France, and the source of bottled Vichy mineral water. Diat remembered a hot soup his mother made, "soupe bonne femme" (roughly translated as "nice and beautiful ladies' soup"), and decided to base his invention on hers. He named it Vichyssoise after the famous spa. "Soie" means "silk,' in French. The soup is smooth, like silk, so he added that word to the title. His new soup was a hit. For the next 30 years Vichyssoise was a standard menu offering in French restaurants in the United States, but in 1940, it came very close to losing its name. The German blitzkrieg (literally, "lightning war") destroyed the French army. France surrendered in June of 1940 and Germany occupied roughly two thirds of the country. The remainder became a German puppet state with its capital at Vichy. Vichy, France, was a farce. Hitler controlled it. French-Americans, many of whom were employed in the food industry, were disgusted at the conduct of this turncoat government. They swung into action. Vichy water was banned in their restaurants. In 1941, a conference of chefs met and voted to rename the chilled soup "crème Gauloise," or "Gaulic cream," to rid it of the Vichy name. However, Vichyssoise was so much a part of English that the name survived. Try chilled Vichyssoise for lunch some hot day. INGEDIENTS: 2 1/2 cups leeks, white part, sliced thin 1 medium onion, chopped 1/2 cup butter 4 cups potatoes, sliced 4 cups chicken stock 2 teaspoons salt 2 cups milk 2 cups light cream 1 cup whipping cream PREPARATION: Cook leeks and onion in butter until tender. Add potatoes, broth and salt; cover and cook for 40 minutes. Rub through fine sieve. Return mixture to stove; add milk and light cream; season to taste. Bring to boil. Remove, cool and press through sieve again. When cold, add whipping cream. Chill, garnish with snipped chives, and serve. Jeff Cheek lives in Medford. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing