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The Melting Pot
Chicken a la King hero image coming soon
1890s-present - Gilded Age hotel chefs, often credited to George Greenwald of Brighton Beach Hotel
Tender chicken and mushrooms in a rich cream sauce with pimentos and sherry, served over toast, pastry shells, rice, or biscuits.
Difficulty
Moderate
Prep time
20 minutes
Cook time
25 minutes
Total time
45 minutes
Servings
4 to 6 servings
Region
New York hotels, American tearooms, buffets, and home kitchens
Era introduced
1890s-present
Introduced by
Gilded Age hotel chefs, often credited to George Greenwald of Brighton Beach Hotel
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Chicken a la King began as a fancy hotel-style dish and later became a midcentury buffet and home-economics staple. Origin stories vary, but the Brighton Beach Hotel account credits chef George Greenwald with preparing it for E. Clarke King in the 1890s. The enduring form is diced chicken and mushrooms in a creamy sauce, brightened with pimentos and often sherry, served over toast points, pastry shells, rice, or biscuits.
Drafted with origin history from What's Cooking America (https://whatscookingamerica.net/poultry/chicken-ala-king.htm), recipe evolution context from Quaint Cooking (https://quaintcooking.com/2019/04/22/the-history-of-chicken-a-la-king/), newspaper-history context from Homestead Museum (https://homesteadmuseum.blog/2021/03/31/from-the-homestead-kitchen-the-meaty-history-chicken-a-la-king/), and modern recipe context from Epicurious (https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/chicken-a-la-king-233531).
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