Caesar Cardini

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Caesar Cardini (1896-1956)
Caesar Cardini (1896-1956)

Caesar Cardini, originally Cesare Cardini (February 24, 1896 – November 3, 1956) was an Italian Mexican restaurateur, chef, and hotel owner, who is credited with creating the Caesar salad.[1]

He was born in the region of Lago Maggiore and had at least four siblings: Alessandro, Carlotta, Caudencio and Maria. While the sisters stayed in Italy, the three brothers emigrated to America; Alessandro and Caudencio eventually were in the restaurant business in Mexico City. Alessandro, who was called Alex in the USA, is reported to have been Caesar's partner in Tijuana.

After having worked in European gastronomy, Caesar went to the United States in his early 20's. He ran a restaurant in Sacramento, then he moved to San Diego where he was in the restaurant business.[2] At the same time he engaged in the same business in Tijuana, Mexico, where he could avoid the restrictions of prohibition. He married Camille, and had a daughter, Rosa Maria Cardini (1928-2003).[3]

Cardini is credited with having created "Caesar's salad"[4] which became "in" among Hollywood and other celebrities, especially after he had moved his restaurant a few blocks to the hotel built c. 1929 (nowadays called Hotel Caesar's).

The family moved to Los Angeles in 1935[1] and Cardini focused on the production and marketing of his salad dressing which he trademarked in 1948. He died in Good Samaritan Hospital on November 3, 1956 in Los Angeles following a stroke at his home at 8738 Bonner Drive and was buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery.[5][6] His daughter took control of Caesar Cardini Foods Inc.[7] Later, the label Cardini's was sold to a third party. It is still popular and offers more than a dozen varieties of the original recipe.[8]

Caesar salad has been especially popular in the United States since 1990,[9] and is also quite well known in Europe.

Historical ''Caesar's'' locations

The San Diego Kahn Building housed a Caesar's from 1923-1972

The probably earliest Caesar's Place in Tijuana, early 1920s

Original Caesar's restaurant - Tijuana c.1930

Caesar Cardini Café, Tijuana, on opening night, c.1935

Hotel Caesar on Main Street, 1940s-early 1950s


[edit] Legacy

Nowadays Hotel Caesar's on Avenida Revolución (formerly Main Street), c.2000
Nowadays Hotel Caesar's on Avenida Revolución (formerly Main Street), c.2000

In Tijuana, Hotel Caesar's, nearby Caesar's Sports Bar and Grill and Caesar's Palace[10] seem to serve an "original salad".

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Cesar Cardini, Creator of Salad, Dies at 60", Los Angeles Times, November 5, 1956. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Since 1935 he had lived in Los Angeles and was active in the marketing of the salad dressing he concocted." 
  2. ^ Kahn Building in San Diego/Hillcrest "[...] continuously housed a restaurant for over 80 years. Most famous was Caesar's, operated from 1923-1972 by the Cardini family."
  3. ^ "Rosa Cardini", The Daily Telegraph, September 21, 2003. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "Rosa Cardini, who has died in California aged 75, turned the salad dressing created by her father, Caesar, into a staple of modern dining and a million-dollar business." 
  4. ^ According his daughter, when interviewed in mid-1970's and in 1987, this was on July 4, 1924, but there may be quite some doubt regarding verifiable data. Cardini was as much a smart businessman as a great showmaster, and why should his only daughter and heiress have diminished his fame? On controversies, see Caesar salad
  5. ^ "Caesar Cardini Funeral", Los Angeles Times, November 7, 1956. Retrieved on 2007-07-23. 
  6. ^ See details and a picture of his gravestone at Findagrave
  7. ^ "At the age of 10, Rosa helped to bottle her father's famous recipe, which the family sold from their station wagon at Los Angeles' Farmers Market after moving from San Diego." (From a 1987 interview with Rosa Cardini)
  8. ^ See Cardini's Dressings product details.
  9. ^ "On Salads, Vox Populi Is Clear: The Almighty Caesar Reigns", New York Times, April 21, 1993. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. "A surge in prepared Caesar salad dressings began in 1990, when supermarket sales increased by 24 percent over the previous year." 
  10. ^ Tijuana tourism board: Restaurant Caesar's Palace, 8131 Revolucion Ave. [...]
Languages