A Chicago chef’s claim to have invented Thousand Island dressing in 1910 has come under scrutiny, as several other stories about the popular condiment’s origins have surfaced. The discussion was detailed in an article published on April 27.
The debate over who first created Thousand Island dressing matters because the story ties into questions of culinary history, local identity, and even economic interests tied to food tourism. University of Wisconsin-Madison professor Michael Bell wrote that such narratives contribute “to people’s sense of identity and ownership over both a place and a taste.”
Theo Rooms, a Belgian-born chef at Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel, said he developed what he called “Blackstone Dressing” when the hotel opened in April 1910. According to Rooms’ account in a 1925 Chef de Cuisine magazine story, his mixture of mayonnaise, chili sauce, pimentos, green peppers and chives quickly became popular with hotel patrons before being renamed Thousand Island dressing after a vacation near the St. Lawrence River.
Rooms received public recognition for inventing the dressing during a Chicago chefs association awards ceremony in September 1925. However, alternate accounts trace the recipe back to New York state’s Thousand Islands region as early as 1907. One version credits Sophia LaLonde for creating “Sophia’s Sauce” for her husband’s fishing expeditions; another links Oscar Tschirky—maître d’hôtel at New York City’s Waldorf Astoria—with developing it during yachting trips with hotelier George Boldt.
May Irwin, an actress and vaudeville star who visited both New York and Chicago hotels around this time period, appears repeatedly across these origin stories as someone who may have shared or helped popularize the recipe between regions.
Despite multiple claims and recipes circulating nationally by the early 1910s—including appearances on railroad dining cars and restaurant menus—the true creator remains uncertain. Bell concluded that while there is “no way to find the ‘real’ ghosts of Thousand Islands dressing,” these overlapping stories reflect broader issues around authenticity and cultural heritage.
