Vichyssoise Facts not Fiction

Few people realize that Vichyssoise, the cold potato leek soup with the French name, was created, not in Paris or Lyons or even in Vichy, France, but in New York City at the beginning of the 20th Century. It was 1917 and the fashionable Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Madison Avenue at 46th Street was about to open a new roof garden restaurant.   The head chef was a Frenchman named Louis Diat (1885-1957).  He often made a potato and leek soup from a recipe given him by his mother, Annette Alajoinine Diat, and he was preparing to serve it at a party celebrating the opening of the roof garden.   Whether, according to legend, the soup, prepared in advance, wasn't re-heated in time to be served as a first course, or whether the day was warm and Chef-de-Cuisine Diat felt culinarily creative, he added cream to his mother's soup recipe and served it cold, sprinkled with chopped chives.   He called it Creme Vichyssoise Glacee, or Chilled Cream Vichyssoise, in honor of the town where he was born.
The original Ritz-Carlton has long since been demolished but Vichyssoise lives on.  During World War II some patriotic chefs tried to change the name to "Creme Gauloise Glacee" because in 1940 a government collaborating with the Nazis was set up in the French town of Vichy.  Nevertheless, the name Vichyssoise persisted, although nine out of ten, if not ninety-nine out of a hundred, Americans mispronounce it.  The proper French pronunciation is "vee shee swahzz" and NOT "vee shee swah" because an "e" after the final "s" signals a "zzz" sound.
The soup's popularity doubtless comes from the fact that even in the hottest weather one can enjoy a bowl of soup and find it refreshing.  For many years  Lord and Taylor's department store Soup Bar featured only a bowl of Vichyssoise and a piece of apple pie for lunch all summer long, and while New Yorkers often waited three deep for a place at the counter, few of them realized the recipe originated only 11 blocks away.
Although the original recipe calls for straining the cooked vegetables through a sieve, today's cooks most often use a blender.  It also calls for both "single table cream" and "double whipping cream," but today we would use "half-and-half" (or "light cream") and "heavy cream." The following modern recipe, originally from Gourmet magazine, was apparently sanctioned by Louis Diat when he was a regular contributor to the magazine:

CREME VICHYSSOISE GLACEE
4 leeks, the dark green tops discarded
               and the leeks split lengthwise,
               washed well, and chopped coarse
(about 2 1/2 cups)

1 onion, chopped
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

2 russet (baking) potatoes, peeled,
                diced (about 3 cups) and
                reserved in 4 cups water

2 teaspoons salt
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half or light cream
1 cup heavy cream
white pepper to taste
thinly sliced fresh chives for garnish

In a kettle cook the leeks and the onion in the butter, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened.  Add the potatotes with the water and the salt and simmer the mixture, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Add the milk and the half-and-half and bring the mixture just to a boil, stirring.  In a blender, puree the mixture in batches and strain it through a very fine sieve into a bowl.  Stir the cream and the white pepper into the soup and chill the soup.
This recipe makes about 11 cups, serving 8 to 10.