WE'RE now halfway through the first quarter of 2026. And you want to keep to your New Year's Resolution of being fit and eating better.
Aside from getting a gym membership, purchasing active wear, and eliminating junk food from the house, consider preparing healthier recipes to cook. And when searching for salad, you stumble upon 'Caesar salad'.
Is it true that this dish is named after the ancient Roman general?
Verdict:
FALSE
While many believe the name "Caesar salad" originates from Julius Caesar, this is not true.
The name derives directly from its creator, Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini. It all happened in 1924, in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, where Cardini opened Restaurante Caesar's to attract US visitors.
The story goes that on the Fourth of July, the restaurant was running short on menu items, so Cardini snatched up some leftover ingredients, rolled them out in a dining cart in the presence of drunk, hunger-stricken Americans, and prepared an improvised salad with a theatrical flourish, tableside, distracting them from the random ingredients.
News of how good the salad was spread to the US, then across the world. American TV celebrities such as Clark Gable and Jean Harlow flocked to the border town to try it.
Julia Child, a food broadcaster in the 1960s, also made a pilgrimage to the restaurant, tasted it and called the dish “a sensation of a salad from coast to coast”.
The salad was originally made with only seven ingredients - Romaine lettuce, raw egg yolk, olive oil (infused with garlic), Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, Worcestershire sauce, lime juice and toasted bread.
However, the variation of the Caesar salad served in restaurants nowadays typically includes more ingredients, such as Dijon mustard, anchovies, cooked eggs, Parmesan cheese, and croutons.
However, there are disputes of the original origin of the salad - some say the salad was originally called the “Aviator's Salad” because it was served to pilots who would travel to and from Mexico during that time period.
Others claim it was Caesar’s brother, Alex, who made the recipe and while some say that those who worked in the kitchen came up with the recipe.
Either way, this salad is named Caesar salad, and it has nothing to do with the Roman general who was infamously stabbed by a group of senators, including Brutus and Cassius, in 44 BC.
But if you don't fancy a Caesar salad and want to eat healthier, do read this: https://www.thestar.com.my/
References:
1. https://www.
2. https://www.kitchenproject.
4. https://www.bottiglialv.com/
5. https://www.dc-steakhouse.com/
