Caesar Cardini

Caesar Cardini
Born February 24, 1896
Lago Maggiore region of Italy
Died November 3, 1956
Los Angeles, California

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

Biography

He was born as Cesare Cardini in the region of Lago Maggiore and had six siblings: Bonifacio, Aldo, Alessandro, Carlotta, Caudencio and Maria. While the sisters, Bonifacio and Aldo, stayed in Italy, the other 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, Mexico.

After having worked in European gastronomy, Caesar went to the United States in his early 20s. 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, 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 fashionable 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 Cardini's brand was sold, and is now owned by the T. Marzetti specialty salad dressing company. It is still popular and offers more than a dozen varieties of the original recipe.[8]

Legacy

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[9] are said to serve an "original salad".

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Cesar Cardini, Creator of Salad, Dies at 60". Los Angeles Times. November 5, 1956. Since 1935 he had lived in Los Angeles and was active in the marketing of the salad dressing he concocted.
  2. ↑ "[...] 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 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-1970s 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.
  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 Salad Dressings Product Info product details.
  9. ↑ Tijuana tourism board: Restaurant Caesar's Palace, 8131 Revolucion Ave. [...]