Vichyssoise, a soup of velvety-rich potatoes with sharp, green alliums, made soft and mellow by chilled cream, is the ultimate elegant appetizer for a summertime dinner party.    


Vichyssoise Soup Recipe: The Origins of Vichyssoise

Vichyssoise (*veesh-ees-wahz*) is a French soup consisting of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken broth or stock. The famous dish is traditionally served chilled during warm weather, similar to [gazpacho](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-traditional-gazpacho), but also lends itself to a warm preparation during colder months. 

Variations on the standard potato-and-leek formula for vichyssoise may include other alliums like shallots or green garlic, root vegetables like parsnips, or seasonal ingredients like fresh peas or [cauliflower](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-roast-cauliflower). In these preparations, the unifying features are cream and the chilling of the finished purée.

Vichyssoise is one of many variations of potato-leek soup known as a “*potage Parmentier*,” or *Parmentier* soup after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French chef who popularized the use of potatoes in French cuisine. 

The chilled soup known as modern vichyssoise has a few different origin stories—from King Louis XV to Julia Child—but is predominantly attributed to Louis Diat, a French chef working at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City, in the early 1900s. Diat drew inspiration for the dish from his childhood spent near Vichy, a town in central France, where he and his brother added cold milk to their mother’s basic *potage Parmentier* during hotter months. The version he cooked at the Ritz was called *crème vichyssoise glacée* to honor this memory. 

Vichyssoise, a soup of velvety-rich potatoes with sharp, green alliums, made soft and mellow by chilled cream, is the ultimate elegant appetizer for a summertime dinner party.    


Vichyssoise (veesh-ees-wahz) is a French soup consisting of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken broth or stock. The famous dish is traditionally served chilled during warm weather, similar to <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-traditional-gazpacho' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-make-traditional-gazpacho","linkCopy":"gazpacho","category":null}'>gazpacho</a>, but also lends itself to a warm preparation during colder months. Variations on the standard potato-and-leek formula for vichyssoise may include other alliums like shallots or green garlic, root vegetables like parsnips, or seasonal ingredients like fresh peas or <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-roast-cauliflower' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-roast-cauliflower","linkCopy":"cauliflower","category":null}'>cauliflower</a>. In these preparations, the unifying features are cream and the chilling of the finished purée.

What Is Vichyssoise?

Vichyssoise is one of many variations of potato-leek soup known as a “potage Parmentier,” or Parmentier soup after Antoine-Augustin Parmentier, the French chef who popularized the use of potatoes in French cuisine. The chilled soup known as modern vichyssoise has a few different origin stories—from King Louis XV to Julia Child—but is predominantly attributed to Louis Diat, a French chef working at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City, in the early 1900s. Diat drew inspiration for the dish from his childhood spent near Vichy, a town in central France, where he and his brother added cold milk to their mother’s basic potage Parmentier during hotter months. The version he cooked at the Ritz was called crème vichyssoise glacée to honor this memory.

What Are the Origins of Vichyssoise?

Vichyssoise Recipe

Vichyssoise, a soup of velvety-rich potatoes with sharp, green alliums, made soft and mellow by chilled cream, is the ultimate elegant appetizer for a summertime dinner party.