NEW ORLEANS – It really is history on the half shell.
WGNO News with a Twist features reporter Wild Bill Wood is in the middle of New Orleans, in the middle of the French Quarter, in the middle of Antoine’s, the place where Oysters Rockefeller was created.
The dish is legendary.
So is the place.
Antoine’s opened in 1840. Then it was in 1899 that Jules Alciatore created, invented, gave the world, Oysters Rockefeller.
Jules was the son of the man from France who opened Antoine’s Restaurant.
The dish gets its name because the sauce is so rich, Jules Alciatore thought, it’s like a Rockefeller.
That’s Rockefeller as in John D. Rockefeller. He’s the guy who started Standard Oil and got rich. At the time, he was the richest man on the planet.
And so everybody asks at Antoine’s, what’s in the sauce?
It must be spinach. You see what looks like spinach.
It must have bacon. You taste the bacon.
The sauce has neither one in the recipe.
It’s a sauce of pureed green veggies and butter. Then it’s baked with bread crumbs on top.
Antoine’s is run by fifth generation CEO Rick Blount.
Rick says, “we are honored to have National Oysters Rockefeller Day serve as the kick-off culinary event for the city`s many planned Tricentennial celebrations. We consider it the crown jewel of Antoine`s menu, and it is appropriate that we celebrate such an iconic dish as the city`s 300th anniversary year commences.”
But what if Oysters Rockefeller were invented today? What name would one of today’s top chefs give it?
What name would you give it?