Hilton showcases seasonal Waldorf Salad in new cooking episode

Hilton has featured Waldorf Astoria New York chef Michael Anthony in its latest Cooking with Chris episode, with president and chief executive Chris Nassetta preparing traditional and contemporary versions of the Waldorf Salad. Filmed at the company’s new headquarters test kitchen in Virginia, the episode examines the dish’s history and Anthony’s approach to adapting it through the seasons.

The feature follows the New York hotel’s return in 2025 and highlights the food and beverage approach at its signature restaurant, Lex Yard. For hotel and restaurant operators, it provides a practical example of how an established dish can retain its identity while changing ingredients to reflect local availability and the agricultural calendar.

Seasonality at Lex Yard

According to Hilton, Anthony’s cooking at the American brasserie-style Lex Yard draws on relationships with local farmers and producers, with menus focused on seasonal American food. His approach emphasises responsible sourcing and carefully selected flavours rather than complicated preparations.

“When you taste a dish at Lex Yard, you really want to know what time of year it is,” said chef Michael Anthony. That principle also guides his updated Waldorf Salad, which is intended to remain recognisable without becoming fixed in a single form.

Anthony’s autumn interpretation can include roasted celery root and squash. Spring ingredients may include pea shoots, snow peas, sugar snap peas and asparagus, while summer versions can draw on stone fruit, tomatoes and basil.

Hilton said Anthony brings more than three decades of culinary experience to the hotel. His awards include the James Beard honours for Outstanding Chef and Best Chef: New York City.

Revisiting the original recipe

The salad’s origins lie at the original Waldorf Hotel in New York City in the late 19th century. Hilton credits the dish to maître d’hôtel Oscar Tschirky, who recorded it in his 1896 cookbook.

The early preparation combined apples and celery with mayonnaise, served on lettuce. Walnuts became part of later interpretations, while subsequent variations introduced grapes, different dressings and other seasonal additions.

Anthony brings an original 1896 copy of Tschirky’s cookbook into the episode as he and Nassetta prepare the salad. The setting also showcases a new Hilton facility: the company said its headquarters test kitchen gives chefs and other teams space to develop ideas and learn through food and beverage experimentation.

A contemporary version with seasonal variations

Alongside the video, Hilton has published Anthony’s updated recipe and the historical version. The contemporary salad combines Little Gem lettuce, celery, Honeycrisp apple, red grapes, candied walnuts and cheddar, with lemon dressing, aioli and toasted sunflower seeds.

The accompanying recipe notes set out further ways to adapt the dish, including ricotta salata in place of cheddar during summer and celery root rémoulade in winter. Hilton presents the salad recipe as roughly 4 servings, while noting that the accompanying aioli, dressing and walnut quantities reflect culinary-team production batches and can be scaled.