In 1907, the Marshall Field’s in downtown Chicago added a feature shoppers had never seen in a department store before—a restaurant. Named the Walnut Room for the imported wood paneling on the walls, this restaurant would soon become a destination for Midwestern diners drawn to its tearoom fare.
Some of the items on the Walnut Room menu became popular enough that people are still talking about (and recreating!) them today. One of these is Marshall Field’s chicken salad, which is still on the menu all these years later. Combining tender breast meat with creamy mayonnaise, crisp celery, bright lemon juice, and savory Worcestershire sauce, this dish epitomizes the easy elegance of the tea room.
The Story Behind the Walnut Room
Marshall Field & Co. began as a handful of dry goods stores in the 1800s and grew into the Midwest’s most successful department store chain. The flagship Marshall Field’s store on State Street in downtown Chicago quickly set itself apart from other shopping destinations thanks to innovations like large display windows and, most notably, a restaurant known as a tea room.
Tea rooms were popularized in the early 1900s when women couldn’t dine at a restaurant without a male “chaperone” present. Not only did tea rooms offer a safe place for ladies to come together and enjoy a light meal, but they also provided jobs for women who had few other employment options at the time.
Because of its unique location inside Marshall Field’s, the Walnut Room served as a haven for the tired female shopper seeking a dining room of one’s own. As time passed, the tea room’s food began to gain a following. A fan favorite? The chicken salad.
Getty Images / Chicago History Museum
Marshall Field’s Chicken Salad Memories
Many who grew up in Chicagoland (shorthand for the Chicago metropolitan area) have fond memories of enjoying chicken salad at the Walnut Room.
“It was made fresh every day with fresh ingredients,” says Patrick Doyle, who worked as a Walnut Room waiter in the late 1980s. “It was very popular.”
Former Chicagoland resident Mary Anne Glauner and her two daughters would ride the train from the northern suburbs into downtown Chicago a few times a year in the 1980s, and each trip included a visit to the Walnut Room for chicken salad.
“It seemed like an elegant lunch with all the beautiful wood paneling and the history of the room,” Glauner says. “It made us feel special.”
Allrecipes / Abbey Littlejohn
The Pull of the Peach Basket
Some Walnut Room diners swooned over the way the chicken salad was served as part of a special entree called the Peach Basket. The chicken salad was served on a nest of shoestring potatoes, along with canned peaches, fresh strawberries, and tea breads.
“I sold hundreds of Peach Baskets,” says Doyle, who remembers the chicken salad dish being a particular favorite among a certain type of diner at the tea room. “Usually ‘ladies who lunch’ would order a Peach Basket and coffee or tea.”
Glauner and her family even recreated the Peach Basket at home for a baby shower. “We thought we could capture that elegant, special feeling we had when dining in the Walnut Room,” says Glauner’s daughter, Cyndi.
The Glauners went straight to the source, tracking down the potato nests with the help of employees at Marshall Field’s and preparing the chicken salad recipe from The Marshall Field’s Cookbook (featured below).
“The guests seemed very pleased with the meal and several smiled with recognition of the connection to Marshall Field’s,” Cyndi Glauner says. “It was a beautiful lunch.”
Allrecipes / Abbey Littlejohn
How to Make Marshall Field’s Chicken Salad
Although all Marshall Field’s stores were rebranded as Macy’s in 2006, the Walnut Room is still open—and still serving a version of the beloved Peach Basket (now called a Peach Nest).
For those who want to make the iconic Marshall Field’s chicken salad recipe at home, here’s the recipe from The Marshall Field’s Cookbook. Want to put your own spin on it? Consider:
- Using Greek yogurt in place of some of the mayo
- Replacing chicken with chickpeas
- Adding dried cranberries for a bit of sweetness
Former Walnut Room server Doyle has also found a tasty way to make the original chicken salad recipe his own. “I’ve added avocado. Yum!”
Marshall Field’s White Meat Chicken Salad
Recipe reprinted with permission of Macy’s, Inc.
Ingredients
- nonstick cooking spray
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
- 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Directions
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Season the chicken liberally on both sides with salt and pepper and arrange in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet. Carefully pour water around the chicken to a depth of about ¼ inch. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and poach for 30 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove the foil and allow the chicken to cool to room temperature in the liquid. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and cut into 1/2-inch dice.
Step 2
In a large bowl, combine chicken, celery, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce and toss well to combine thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
How to Assemble the Peach Basket Salad
Place a large leaf of lettuce on a plate. Place a mound of shoestring potatoes (recipe on page 45 of The Marshall Field’s Cookbook) on the lettuce. Top the potatoes with a large scoop of the chicken salad. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon sliced almonds over the chicken. Arrange 3 slices canned peaches next to the chicken salad. Thinly spread 1/2 slice date-nut bread, 1/2 slice zucchini bread, and 1/2 slice pound cake with whipped cream cheese and arrange next to the chicken salad as well. Garnish with 2 fresh strawberries.
