What is Oysters Rockefeller?

The original recipe is still a secret. Oysters Rockefeller consists of oysters on the half-shell that have been topped with various other ingredients, a rich butter sauce, bread crumbs and are then baked or broiled.

The dish was named Oysters Rockefeller after John D. Rockefeller, for the intense richness of the sauce. Jules Alciatore developed it in the face of a shortage of French snails, substituting the locally available oysters for snails in 1899.