
If there is a soup that is worth more than the sum of its parts, it is Vichy Suez. Consisting of four basic ingredients: chicken stock, leeks, potatoes and cream, many versions of this simple soup have been a staple in French and American kitchens for centuries. Credit for this particular style is often given to French chef Louis Diat, who added Vichyssoise, as we know it, to the menu of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York, NY, in the early 1900s.
“Vichyssoise is a wonderful break for my palate – the equivalent of dropping my shoulders and taking my tongue off my palate,” says Natalie Trevino, chef and owner of The Roughian, a conceptual supper club in Corpus Christi, Texas. It’s time to chill out, live in the moment and enjoy the fact that someone’s mom in 1800s France made cold potato soup for them when they were kids, and it’s driving culinary minds around the globe crazy in 2022.”
Like many other popular foods, Vichyssoise even gets its own holiday every year on National Vichyssoise Day in the U.S. on Nov. 18 – kicking off the best time of year to start preparing soups for the colder months ahead.

Depending on where you are in the world, the weather can be unpredictable in November and early December. One day it’s 75 degrees and you’ll think fall might be sweet and mild. The next day it’s 35 degrees and you’re shedding your winter coat when the skies threaten to drop wet, early-season snow. So maybe hot and cold is the right soup for the season.
In the name of comfort, I turn to Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook for the classic Vichyssoise recipe: strategies, recipes and techniques for classic bistro cooking. The late Bourdain’s simple classic French bistro recipe is the ideal starting point for anyone who wants to make the essential Vichyssoise. The recipe is simple and calls for butter, leeks, potatoes, light chicken stock, cream, nutmeg, salt, pepper and fresh, fine shallots to garnish.
In a conversation with Yahoo Life to promote the new cooking app Taste, Eric Ripert Chef Bernardine in New York, NY and longtime friend and travel companion of Bourdain, shared his own secrets for making Vichyssoise.
“A good Vichyssoise is not too much potato and very good quality leeks, and cook quickly until the leeks are very tender,” Ripert says. “Then, when you blend the soup, make sure you don’t use the blender in the soup for too long, because the potatoes tend to get a little stretchy and give your soup a weird consistency.”
In the Les Halles Cookbook, Bourdain also mentions the blending process as the key to making this soup. “Well, the next part is tricky,” he writes in the recipe notes. “Slowly, in small batches, blend into a thick soup in a blender at high speed …… never add the blender too high.”
“You don’t want to overdo it, but at the same time you don’t want to eat big chunks of potatoes,” Ripert explains. “So you have to find the right amount of time needed to blend.”
But who makes a better Vichyssoise? “I’m not sure anyone has a better recipe,” says Ripert. “I’m sure there are some subtle differences between Anthony’s recipe and mine, because we both have our own sensitivities.”

“I’m sure his was delicious,” he added. “I know mine is good, too, because I make it for my family all the time and we enjoy it together. It’s just a matter of how sensitive you are when you cook and eat.”
Vichyssoise is a clean slate: it’s easy to add flavor to it, and almost every chef has his or her own take on it. “Last winter, we did a California-style clam chowder,” says restaurateur Daniel Lucero. Aficci is in San Francisco, California, under the supervision of Executive Chef Eric Upper.
The restaurant adds an upscale flavor to the soup with a seafood stock and specialty sides. “The soup is basically a Vichy soup, but I use clam sauce instead of water,” Lucero adds. “[The garnish] is abalone, elephant mussels, Wagyu sausage and potatoes.”
Alyssa D’Angelo, chef and owner offline chef in New York, N.Y., likes to add a little French sour cream and cream to the soup for a slightly richer flavor. Diversifying the dairy products in the recipe is a move Trevino also employs when making Vichyssoise. “I appreciate the different amounts of cream, milk, half and half, and butter that Mr. Diat originated. So that’s what I used,” Trevino says.
I started making Vichyssoise for myself, using Bourdain’s recipe as a guide. But first, I had to make a batch of chicken stock, which is also outlined in the Les Halles Cookbook. I put 5 pounds of chicken bones from the butcher into a 6-quart pot, along with a bay leaf, a tablespoon of whole black peppercorns, two chopped carrots, three chopped celery ribs, a halved onion and the top of a pot filled with ½ inch of water. I brought it to a boil, then turned the heat down to medium and skimmed the surface of the ingredients for about 10 hours before straining and cooling. If you want to skip this step, feel free to buy good quality, low or no sodium chicken stock without judgment. Cooking the stock is the longest part of making Vichyssoise, but it’s a satisfying way to get started.
Vichyssoise
from Anthony Bourdain’s Les Halles Cookbook

Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons (56 grams) butter, unsalted
- 8 leeks, white part only, cleaned and thinly sliced
- 2 medium potatoes, cut into small cubes (I used russet potatoes, peeled)
- 4 cups (900 mL) light chicken stock or broth
- 2 cups (450 mL) heavy cream
- 1 pinch of nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 4 fresh chives, finely chopped
Instructions:
- Wash and slice the leeks. Peel and cut the potatoes.
- In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat, then add the sliced leeks. Cook for about five minutes, stirring regularly to sweat but taking care not to brown. Once the leeks have softened and reduced, add the potatoes and cook for about two minutes.
- Next, add the chicken stock and bring to a boil before reducing to a gentle simmer for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the potatoes are very soft, remove the pot from the heat and let cool for five minutes.
- In several small batches, blend the soup on high speed to puree. Afterward, return all of the puree to the pot. Whisk in the cream and nutmeg, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Once more, bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for about five more minutes, adjusting the seasoning as desired.
- Chill the finished soup in an ice bath before refrigerating. Once cold, wrap tightly with plastic wrap to store for several days. Serve chilled with freshly cut chives in chilled bowls, or reheat to enjoy warm.