Victor Hertzler
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Victor Hirtzler (ca. 1875,
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
– February 9, 1931, Strasbourg) was a French
chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
who was head chef of
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
's St. Francis Hotel from its opening in 1904 until 1926. One of America's first celebrity chefs, he publicized himself and his hotel by inventing dishes, writing cookbooks, and hosting meals.


Biography

Hirtzler was born in approximately 1875 in
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
,
German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
. He trained at the Grand Hotel in
Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, served as cook and food taster to
Czar Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Polan ...
, and chef du cuisine for Carlos I of Portugal, before moving to
Sherry's ''Sherry's'' was a restaurant in New York City. It was established by Louis Sherry in 1880 at 38th Street and Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Sixth Avenue. In the 1890s, it moved to West 37th Street (New York City), 37th Street, near Fifth Avenue. By 18 ...
and the Waldorf in New York City. In 1904 he moved to San Francisco to manage food service at the recently opened St. Francis Hotel on
Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
. The hotel survived the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, and opened for breakfast as usual that morning, shortly after the quake, to the surprise and admiration of the city's residents. Hirtzler created and named a dish after
Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...
,The dish was 'Spaghetti Caruso' or 'Macaroni Caruso' and consisted of pasta with a sauce of mushrooms, tomato, shallots and garlic. a prominent guest at the time. For a number of years, including the 100th anniversary of the disaster, the hotel recreated the morning's menu for a special "Earthquake Survivor Breakfast" in honor of the last few remaining survivors, with dishes including "Chilled Rhubarb Stew", "Southern Hominy with Cream", and "Eggs with Black Truffles in Puff Pastry". However, the hotel interior was soon gutted by fires sweeping the city, and the main part of the hotel closed until 1907. Known for a thick French accent, a pointed beard and curled moustache, showy costumes that included a red
fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
, and frequent appearances to greet guests and dignitaries throughout the hotel, Hirtzler "exceeded even the Hollywood portrait of a master chef". His cooking style was French, and he specialized in offering his guests many choices: "A typical dinner menu would offer a choice of fourteen cheeses, twenty clam or oyster dishes, eleven soups, twenty-four relishes, seventeen kinds of fish, and fifty-eight entrées from hamburger to Bohemian ham." Breakfasts included 203 different preparations of eggs, such as "Eggs Moscow" stuffed with caviar. In addition to naming dishes after guests (such as "Eggs
Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...
", with diced chicken), Hirtzler invented or renamed a number of dishes after himself including "Chicken Salad Victor", "Crab Cocktail Victor", "Victor Dressing", and the best known, "
Celery Victor Celery Victor is an historical American marinated celery salad dish invented in 1910 by Victor Hirtzler, head chef at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel, who is also credited with inventing Crab Louie. The dish, an "American classic", was popula ...
". Hirtzler may also have invented "
Crab Louie Crab Louie salad, also known as Crab Louis salad or the King of Salads, is a type of salad featuring crab meat. The recipe dates back to the early 1900s and originates on the West Coast of the United States. History The exact origins of the dis ...
". Hirtzler returned to Strasbourg in 1925, returning to San Francisco briefly in 1926 for the opening of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. He died in Strasbourg, France, on February 9, 1931, as announced in the ''Hotel Monthly'' (Chicago, John Willy). Late in life, Victor had married Regina Caspary (1882–1955), of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, daughter of the wagon-maker and bottling company owner, Adam Caspary (1835–1907).


Publications

*''L'Art Culinaire''. Beginning in 1910 Hirtzler promoted his hotel, and his status as a chef, by publishing cookbooks structured as a series of multi-course menus for three meals per day, every day of the year. He titled the initial version (in a "popular" and more expensive "subscription" edition with a 9-page introductory list of "patrons") ''L'Art Culinaire'', after '' Le guide culinaire'', the landmark cookbook by French chef
Georges Auguste Escoffier Georges Auguste Escoffier (; 28 October 1846 – 12 February 1935) was a French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who popularized and updated traditional French cooking methods. Much of Escoffier's technique was based on that of Marie-Antoi ...
, whom Hirtzler considered a rival. Comprising many French and French-inspired dishes, and written in a similar abbreviated style as Escoffier's book, (e.g. soup stocks are specified as to be cooked "in the usual way", and ingredients such as tarragon vinegar are specified despite being hard to find in most of America at the time) Hirtzler nevertheless included many local dishes and ingredients, such as "California raisins", "cactus fruit" and "Boston baked beans." *''The Hotel St. Francis Cookbook''.The Hotel St. Francis Cook Book by Victor Hirtzler - New, Rare & Used Books at Alibris
/ref> This 1919 edition is the best known of Hirtzler's St. Francis cookbooks.Victor Hirtzler (1919) ''The Hotel St. Francis Cookbook''
/ref>


Notes


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hirtzler, Victor 1870s births 1935 deaths American chefs American male chefs French chefs 1906 San Francisco earthquake survivors American food writers French food writers Businesspeople from Strasbourg Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area Year of birth uncertain Writers from San Francisco French male writers Chefs from San Francisco Emigrants from the German Empire to France French emigrants to the United States