Oscar Tschirky (1866-1950), a member of Metropolitan Lodge 273 of New York City, was at one time the most famous chef in the world. Known as "Oscar of the Waldorf," he was the author of a bestselling cookbook and was the creator of the Waldorf Salad. Various accounts give him credit for popularizing Thousand Island dressing and originating Eggs Benedict. Historians agree, the Waldorf-Astoria did not make Oscar famous. Rather, he made the hotel famous. He was so well known that some claim when Hollywood came up with a statuette to honor its best actors, people thought it looked like him, albeit younger and thinner, and they called it "Oscar." All this, despite the fact that Oscar Tschirky was the Waldorf's maître d'hôtel. He was not a chef!
