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HOW THE BUFFALO GOT ITS WINGS


BUFFALO WINGS


There are several claims about how Buffalo Wings were invented, but one of the most prevalent is that they were first prepared by Teressa Bellissimo, co-owner of the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York with her husband Frank, after her son Dominic arrived unannounced with several of his college friends late one night. Not having anything ready to go, she saw some chicken wings that were set aside for a stock pot, and either broiled or deep fried them (no-one is quite sure), and tossed them in some cayenne hot sauce that also happened to be in the kitchen. Upon being presented with the wings in a bowl, and no cutlery, one of Dominic’s friends asked “What are these?”. Another also enquired as to how they were supposed to eat them. Perhaps doing what all good Fathers do when trying to keep the peace, Frank simply whispered “Keep quiet and use your fingers!”.


HOT DOG BUNS


While frankfurters had been introduced to America by the Germans in the 1800s, it was the bun that turned them into an American icon. Many credit a man from Coney Island named Charles Feltman, who in 1871 wanted to give his customers a hot sandwich. However, his butcher’s cart was too small to offer multiple options, so he thought of turning his slim sausages into sandwiches by using an elongated roll. However, it’s not just New Yorkers


who are looking to stake a claim to the marriage of bun to sausage. In 1883, Anton Ludwig Feuchtwanger (best surname ever?), recognized the difficulty in eating a hot sausage, and so came up with the idea of providing his customers with white gloves, which also added a touch of class to the whole process. This would have been fine, except that his customers kept walking off with the gloves and it was costing him a fortune


10 The Delicatessen Magazine


OUR REGULAR COLUMNIST ADRIAN BEALE GIVES US AN INSIGHT INTO THE ICONS OF AMERICAN FOOD.


to replace them. One trip to a local baker to solve the problem and the result was an inexpensive soft bun. Whether true or not, Feuchtwanger, certainly played a huge role (no pun intended) in making the Hot Dog and bun combination famous in the Midwest, as he had one of the most popular concessions at the 1904 World’s Fair in his hometown of St Louis.


COOKIES & CREAM ICE CREAM


To some people (me), John Harrison probably has the greatest job in the world – official taste tester for Edy’s Grand Ice Cream. The 4th generation ice-cream man has developed over 70 new flavours, and checked approximately 200 million gallons of sweet deliciousness. However, it was whilst in a rush to get back to his desk that he made his biggest discovery. Taking a break from the lab, he visited the company ice-cream parlour for a scoop of his favourite flavour, vanilla. On the counter sat a bowl of chocolate cookies. Ironically he didn’t have time to eat his ice-cream as he needed to get back to eating ice-cream, so he broke up a handful of cookies and tossed them in with his snack. Immediately he knew he was onto something, and despite his bosses preferring a new Perfectly Peach flavour shortly due to be rolled, luck was on his side after a hail storm decimated that years peach crop. Executives agreed to give his concoction a 3-month trial, but it was an immediate success, and is now the 5th best-selling flavour in the world.


THE FILET-O-FISH


Although a McDonald’s product, it wasn’t one of their own staff that came up with the idea, but one of their franchisees, Lou Green. Lou would go on to own 43 McDonalds in the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area, but his early days were tough going. In particular, he couldn’t figure out why, every Friday, his outlets were only bringing in less than a hundred bucks, but other restaurants were still doing a roaring trade. Eventually he visited his closest restaurant that was doing great business to try and work out where he was going wrong. He immediately noticed that in his local Big Boy chain, the patrons were all buying fish dishes, and it was then the penny finally dropped. In his area of Cincinnati, the neighbourhood was about 87% Catholic, and many devotees avoided meat on a Friday. Knowing he needed a fish dish, he sprang into action and created a special batter and a tartar sauce condiment, and went to the company’s owner, Ray Croc, for approval. Unfortunately for Lou, Ray was about to launch his own new creation, the Hula Burger, which, imaginatively, was a bun with a slice of pineapple in the middle. Lou knew better than to argue with the boss, but Ray agreed to sell both new products on one given Friday, with the deal being whichever sold the most gaining permanent addition to the menu. To this day it is unknown how many Hula Burgers were sold... l


Adrian Beale, Co-owner, Buckley & Beale. W: www. buckleyandbeale.com T: 01454 219445.


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