This Mayfair Salad recipe comes from the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair

Tony's pastry chef Helen Fletcher has converted this historic recipe—once a prized dressing sold by the Mayfair Hotel—into something you can make at home.

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After the holidays and all those cookies, some of us are looking for a quick, light but deliciously filling lunch or dinner. Served with a crusty bread, Mayfair Salad is the perfect foil to your holiday feasts. 

Mayfair Salad was a staple of the original Mayfair Hotel in St. Louis many years ago. In fact. it was one of the original recipes from the 1904 St. Louis Worlds Fair Exhibition.

The salad itself was a combination of romaine lettuce—rather racy at the time, when the other lettuce was iceberg—ham, swiss cheese, and croutons.  Mayfair Dressing was originally made with homemade mayonnaise, which included raw egg yolks. Several years ago, I converted it to use store-bought mayonnaise, which made it not only easier, but safer. 

When my husband and I were first married, we would go to the Mayfair Hotel and buy this dressing by the pint. Armed with the dressing and the ingredients, we could enjoy as many of these salads as we could eat before the dressing ran out. It was a luxury we loved, in those days. We still love this dressing above all others, and now we can have it whenever we want.



Mayfair Salad Dressing
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
  • 1 large clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
  • 2 ounces canned anchovies rinsed in hot water
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cup prepared mayonnaise


Instructions
  1. Place all but the mayonnaise in a food processor or blender. Using the processor gives the dressing some texture; using the blender will make it perfectly smooth. It's your choice.
  2. Process to puree.
  3. Add 1/2 cup of the mayonnaise to the processor or blender, then process.
  4. Whisk in the remaining 1 cup mayonnaise by hand. 


Original Mayfair Salad
  • Romaine lettuce
  • Ham, julienned
  • Swiss Cheese, julienned
  • Croutons
  • Mayfair Dressing

There are no amounts. Use as much or little as desired.

Helen Fletcher has more than 25 years of experience owning and operating a wholesale specialty bakery that services hotels, restaurants, and caterers. She is the pastry chef at Tony's and runs the blog Pastries Like a Pro.

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