This classic chopped salad has more variations than you might think – but which is the best version?
Named after the Park Avenue hotel where it first saw the light of day, rather than, as Basil Fawlty would have it, “a walnut that’s gone orf”, the Waldorf salad has always carried with it a whiff of glamour that’s quite at odds with the actual dish. This simple chopped salad made its debut at a charity ball held at the New York hotel in aid of St Mary’s Hospital for Children in 1893, so it was designed for mass catering, rather than haute cuisine. It’s quick to put together, it can be made ahead of time without fear of wilting, and it also happens to use a couple of very seasonal ingredients. Perfect autumnal stuff.