Eggs Benedict is the ultimate American brunch dish, consisting of an English muffin topped with Canadian bacon, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce. Its origin is linked to the Waldorf Hotel in New York. In 1894, Lemuel Benedict, a retired Wall Street broker, reportedly ordered 'buttered toast, poached eggs, crisp bacon, and a hooker of hollandaise' as a hangover cure. The legendary maître d'hôtel, Oscar Tschirky, was so impressed that he added it to the menu but substituted an English muffin and Canadian bacon. Hollandaise, one of the five French 'mother sauces,' is an emulsion of egg yolk, melted butter, and lemon juice. It is notoriously difficult to make because the eggs can easily scramble if the heat is too high.