Claudette Zepeda’s Secret to the Best Caesar Salad Is Already in Your Fridge

There are few salads as iconic as the Caesar — that interplay of crisp romaine, crunchy croutons, shaved Parmesan, and a creamy, pungent dressing of egg yolk, olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, and anchovies.

For chef Claudette Zepeda, the dish is personal, and reflects her own culinary origin story. Zepeda grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, where Caesar salad was invented in 1924. Although it has been credited to different cooks, the original recipe is definitively tied to Caesar’s restaurant in Tijuana, where it is still famously prepared tableside in a large wooden bowl. Regardless of who created it, the salad highlights the ingenuity of Italian immigrant chefs who transformed humble ingredients into a remarkable dish. Early in her career, Zepeda even worked for Javier Plascencia, a member of the family that owns Caesar’s.

Related: Chef Claudette Zepeda on ‘Mex-Italian’ Food — and Why She Doesn’t Use the Word ‘Fusion’

At the recent Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Zepeda celebrated the cross-cultural origins of the famous salad during a seminar on “Mex-Italian cuisine.” Alongside a limoncello Margarita and chorizo carbonara, Zepeda made a Baja-style Caesar salad, using lime juice and Cotija cheese instead of traditional lemon and Parmesan. “I always say foundational recipes are good to understand,” Zepeda told the crowd in Aspen. If cooks have a firm grasp of a particular formula, they can make informed swaps and put their own personal stamp on it.

However, Zepeda shared one non-negotiable for a stellar Caesar.

Claudette Zepeda’s must-have ingredient for Caesar dressing

“When I worked for Javier, we had to go through Caesar salad bootcamp,” said Zepeda. “I [would] buy the fanciest Dijon [mustard]. Javier would come and taste it and a single tear would come down his eye,” she said. “And he was like, ‘It’s just not right.’ So he sent us to do the Caesar salad with a team of all the captains that do it tableside [in Tijuana], and the secret was Grey Poupon.”

Related: This Summer, Embrace Mustard Maximalism

That’s right — the secret to a chef-approved Caesar salad dressing might already be in your fridge. First created in 1866 in Dijon, France, the classic white wine–infused mustard is known for its bold, slightly spicy flavor. Heublein Company purchased the American rights in 1946, and Kraft Foods later acquired it.

Try Grey Poupon in a classic Caesar dressing, Zepeda’s punched-up version, or even in a shortcut recipe that starts with mayonnaise. It will also bring its tangy piquancy to everything from grilled chicken to vinaigrettes to deviled eggs.

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