Oscar Tschirky

1866–1950

Oversaw, as maître d’hôtel, the hospitality and culture of the influential Waldorf-Astoria, including its storied bar

Oscar Tschirky emigrated to New York from Switzerland in 1883, eventually establishing his reputation as the maître d’hôtel of Delmonico’s before jumping to the same role at the then-new Waldorf-Astoria in 1893. At the Waldorf, Tschirky became “Oscar of the Waldorf” and was a dominant hospitality figure in New York for the next four decades. Tschirky, never himself a working chef, published the encyclopedic “The Cookbook by Oscar of The Waldorf” (1896), including various recipes he developed or popularized (e.g., Waldorf salad, Eggs Benedict, Thousand Island Dressing), and much later, a cocktail book. Tschirky retired in 1943 and is buried at New Paltz Rural Cemetery.