Inside the link between Delmonico’s NY and the Delmonico Room at Hotel Fauchere

Max Tucci, grandson of Oscar Tucci, who bought the ionic New York restaurant after the Delmonico brothers owned it, hosted a soiree at the Fauchere’s Delmonico room on Oct.7 celebrating the publication of his new book, “The Delmonico Way: Sublime Entertaining & Legendary Recipes from the restaurant that made New York.” The book is published by Rizzoli, a prestigious publisher of fine art books. It contains recipes created at the restaurant as well as anecdotes, and interesting tidbits about New York society.

Tucci practically grew up in the restaurant and knew all about its legendary past. The restaurant recently reopened after COVID and Tucci is its brand ambassador.

He captivated the diners with his charm and knowledge of this great institution with its reputation for serving “the highest quality food in an elegant manner,” as his grandfather insisted. As he was talking about the restaurant, dinner was being served and the dishes were those that were served in the original restaurant — some with a twist provided by Chef Kavon Langley, culinary director of the Delmonico Room at the Fauchere, whose mission it is to bring back a stricter adherence to French cooking — which is his particularly culinary expertise and background.

Tucci talked about the restaurant being the first fine dining restaurant in the city, the first to use tablecloths, and its creation of such dishes as cherries jubilee, Marlena Dietrich’s favorite, or baked Alaska, the exotic wedge salad, eggs Benedict, oysters Rockefeller, and of course Delmonico steak. They had their share of famous guests like Gypsy Rose Lee (famous for her dancing on the piano), Lena Horn, the Gabor sisters, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others.

So, what does this have to do with the Fauchere? Louis Fauchere was the chef extraordinaire at Delmonico’s for years. His cooking gave the restaurant its cache. When he and the Fauchere family moved to Milford and established the hotel, they actually built a cottage for the Delmonico brothers to stay in when they ventured up to the country to enjoy Fauchere’s cooking. It was fitting that when Dick Snyder and Sean Stub bought and remodeled the hotel in 2001, they designated the dining room, “the Delmonico Room.”

The Rosado family is intent on keeping and expanding the tradition of excellence. This soiree with Max Tucci’s commentary and the Delmonico menu is testament to that. The phrase “The Delmonico Way” was originated by Oscar Tucci and it was a strict code of hospitality, quality, etiquette, and excellence that the restaurant was held to and that is also part of the legacy of the Milford Delmonico Room.

Max Tucci gave autographed copies of his book to each delighted diner. When asked about the type of relationship which might continue between the two restaurants beyond this dinner, he said, “My family has a slogan — it is ‘Moving forward, looking back.’” He continued, “I see a continuing relationship because it honors the Fauchere and the Delmonico brothers and is a wonderful collaboration between the Rosado family and the Tucci family. And it is a wonderful platform to have food be a part of it.”

Steven Rosado, in the same spirit, said, “The lineage before us is what we would like to continue. We have a new chef and old recipes. Watching the guests tonight, and seeing how they enjoyed the evening, I think this will be a first of many. It’s a family affair.”