Happy Accidents: The Story Behind the Wedgewood Caesar
Written by: Michelle Webb | Photo by: Wesley Harwood | Wine Pairing: Maggie Storer
A French butter tasting. A southern pantry. A forgotten tin of anchovies. Somehow, it all led to a reinvented Caesar.
This July 4 marks 101 years since the creation of the original Caesar salad — itself a happy accident. Running low on supplies during a busy holiday rush, Caesar Cardini, owner of Caesar’s Restaurant in Tijuana, improvised a dish to satisfy his guests. He grabbed romaine lettuce, garlic, croutons, Parmesan cheese, boiled eggs (later swapped for raw or coddled egg), olive oil, and Worcestershire sauce.
The original Caesar was prepared tableside and didn’t include anchovies — Cardini wasn’t a fan. Instead, he relied on Worcestershire for a touch of umami. Anchovies came later, added by American restaurants in the 1940s and ’50s to deepen the flavor.
“Caesar Cardini was a real person, and I remember eating a Caesar salad at his restaurant when I was a child and going to Tijuana with my parents. It was a great show: the romaine leaves were rolled around in a big wooden bowl with the garlic, anchovy-free dressing, and plenty of lemon juice.”
The Wedgewood Caesar, photographed by Wesley Harwood
The Wedgewood Caesar is Born
Our philosophy at Wedgewood is to take classics and reinterpret them with subtle, unexpected twists.
Enter the Wedgewood Caesar. Another happy accident. I was pressed for time before a scheduled tasting with Greg Pfaender of Authentique Vin to prepare for a butter and bubbles class. I scanned our scant shelves of the former Cheese Shop, looking for ingredients to pair with Maison Bordier beurre demi-sel, a rich, complex, cultured butter that’s been hand-churned for generations in the seaside city of Brittany. A region also well known for its tinned fish, I grabbed a tin of Les Mouettes D’Arvor anchovies packed in French olive oil and Edmond Fallot mustard from Burgundy.
In a hurry, I added a southern twist: Lusty Monk Mustard from Asheville for extra punch and of course, Duke’s Mayo. Thankfully, it worked. It honored the French coast with the perfect amount of salinity and umami, plus a creamy, zesty finish that was at once familiar and altogether brand new.
And voilá, a star pairing was born.
This anchovy-mustard accoutrement quickly evolved into a Caesar-ish salad dressing. We swapped cumbersome, crunchy croutons for Normandy butter-toasted breadcrumbs. We kept the romaine and ditched the parmesan cheese. Instead, we opted for a Normandy-bred delight, Mimolette, a bright orange-hued, earthy, and salty cheese that demanded to be shaved.
More on that Bright Orange Cheese
Mimolette was also a happy accident, but the less-happy kind, born from a wartime trade sanction. Louis XIV was eager to reduce dependence on foreign imports during the Franco-Dutch War of the 17th century. His finance minister pushed the idea of “import substitution” to encourage local copies of imported goods. Dutch Edam cheese was very popular in France at the time and was recreated in Lille, a city in French Flanders near the Dutch border. It was given a new name, Mimolette, based on the French phrase mi-molle, meaning ‘semi-soft’ or ‘half-soft.’ To distinguish it from Edam, it was dyed with annatto seeds to give it its signature, bright orange color.
So when we were developing Wedgewood’s light fare menu, this love letter to the French coast was destined to make an appearance. Since we opened three weeks ago, Chef Gordon and his team have pushed out 200 Wedgewood Caesars to delighted diners. So, perhaps there’s nothing wrong in messing with a classic.
Wine Pairing
Because every salad needs a splash. Our GM and head wine curator, Maggie Storer says you can’t go wrong here with white Burgundy. The Couturier Bourgogne Blanc ($32), found on the shelves at Wedgewood, is a full-bodied, 100% Chardonnay wine from the Mâconnais region in Burgundy, France. This is a place where Chardonnay shines— a far cry from new- world Chardonnay.
Growing Notes: Mâconnais sits at the southernmost edge of Burgundy, and benefits from a more Mediterranean climate than the rest of the region. Hotter temperatures, more sunlight, and less rainfall result in grapes that ripen quicker and have a more concentrated flavor. Domaine Couturier, a terroir-driven winery, plants what are known as ‘cover crops’ in between the rows of vines, which help regulate ground temperatures and thus preserve the acidity of the Chardonnay- when grapes ripen too quickly, their sugars intensify. The soils these grapes are grown in are made up of schist topsoil with a calcareous clay subsoil, offering a nice, balanced minerality to the wine.
All of these factors, while seemingly menial on paper, play a huge part in what ends up in the bottle, on the truck, on our shelves, and ultimately in your hands. Couturier Bourgogne Blanc is a rich, full-bodied still white wine that has enough oomph to stand up to the strong flavor profile of the Wedgewood Caesar.
Tasting Notes: Expect notes of lemon peel, chamomile, honeysuckle, and ripe, fleshy fruit on the palate. Its bracing acidity is enough to round out the malolactic fermentation that takes place and cut into the full richness of both the wine itself and the Wedgewood Caesar. Next time you’re in the shop, find Maggie and she’ll open up a cold bottle of Couturier for you.
Now, onto the recipe.
Recipe
Wedgewood Caesar
(serves: 2-3)
Ingredients:
Dressing
2 anchovy fillets (recommend Mouettes d’Arvor Anchovies in Oil)
1 clove garlic, finely minced or microplaned
1-2 tsp French Dijon mustard (recommend Edmond Fallot Traditional Dijon)
1-2 tsp Lusty Monk Mustard
1 Tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1/2 c Duke’s Mayo
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salad
1 medium head romaine lettuce, washed, dried, torn into large bite-sized pieces
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
1 to 1.5 Tbsp French butter (recommend Isigny St. Mere Beurre de Barrate)
.33 lb shaved (not grated) 18-month Mimolette cheese (bring to room temp before serving)
Optional: add 1-2 hard boiled eggs, anchovy fillets, or grilled chicken for additional protein
Make the dressing: Combine dressing ingredients in a bowl (using immersion blender) or blender. Pulse until combined and creamy. Add salt and pepper as needed for taste. Store in the fridge to chill before serving.
Make the breadcrumbs. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs. Stir constantly for 3–5 minutes until golden brown and toasty. Season with a pinch of salt.
Plate your salads. In a large bowl combine romaine lettuce and dressing. Divide mixture evenly across plates. Top each salad with toasted breadcrumbs, followed by shaved mimolette. Drizzle any leftover dressing on top of each salad then finish with a pinch of salt, fresh, cracked pepper and squeeze of lemon. Top with any additional proteins and dig in.
