What is National Eggs Benedict Day?
National Eggs Benedict Day is the celebration of a long-favoured breakfast or brunch dish on April 16th. Benedict consists of poached eggs with Hollandaise sauce and Canadian bacon or ham on English muffin halves.
Eggs Benedict came to be in two different versions.
- Lemuel Benedict, a stockbroker from 1894, ordered "buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a side of Hollandaise" at the Waldorf Hotel. They were so impressed with the dish that they put it on the menu, substituting ham and English muffins in place of the bacon and toast in place of the bacon and toast
- Pope Benedict XIII loved an egg dish so much that he ordered it time and time again in the early 18th century. Many believe Pope Benedict XIII suffered with an illness that contributed to his craving for this particular egg dish, hence the name Eggs Benedict
