10 Of Walt Disney's Favorite Foods

It seems as though creative individuals often have a famous affinity for food, even when they're known for creative ventures that have absolutely nothing to do with cuisine. Actress Elizabeth Taylor was reportedly a huge fan of one restaurant's chili (here are some other restaurants Taylor loved across the U.S.), while writer Ernest Hemingway's favorite meal was also his last. Walt Disney, known for founding a cartoon studio and creating multiple theme parks in his name, was a consummate storyteller who also had a well-known taste in food.

By all accounts, his preferences remained simple throughout his life. True to his Midwestern roots (he was born in Chicago and raised in Missouri), he typically went for a good plate of meat and potatoes over anything more sophisticated. But that doesn't mean he was thoughtless about the food he ate. His tastes may have been simple, but quality also mattered, and he cared about letting others experience the same joys he drew from his meals. Indeed, Disneyland boasts a number of eateries that prepare some of Walt Disney's favorite foods, including the Plaza Inn, which was known as the Red Wagon Inn when Disney himself ate there. We consulted Kevin M. Kern, regional archives manager of the Walt Disney Archives, to fill us in on what Disney liked to eat. So, let's take a more detailed look at what foods Disney enjoyed and how you might partake in them yourself, inside or outside of his theme parks.

It's a crying shame that the Hollywood restaurant Chasen's has closed, because it seems as though its chili was legendary. Celebrities of every caliber flocked to its tables, including Elizabeth Taylor, who couldn't bear to go without it for even a few months — in fact, she reportedly had the restaurant's chili shipped to her movie set in Italy while filming "Cleopatra," and we can only assume that none of the local Italian food could fill her craving satisfactorily.

Walt Disney was another such celebrity. According to Kevin M. Kern, the animation mogul enjoyed dining at Chasen's for occasional business meals, but more frequently, he visited the restaurant with his family. At the same time, Disney was no chili snob and seemed to enjoy the dish in any make or model. As biographer Bob Thomas writes in "Walt Disney: An American Original," Disney preferred "to combine a can of Gebhardt's, which had much meat and few beans, with a can of Dennison's, which had less meat and more beans. The dish was preceded by a glass of V8 juice and accompanied by soda crackers." Stunningly, and very much in the style of Elizabeth Taylor, he also forewent fancy meals at the Dorchester Hotel in London, preferring to have the chefs there prepare him the canned chili he'd brought from home.

Walt Disney also reportedly liked to keep things simple in the dessert domain. No mille-feuilles or elaborate pastries for him. According to Kevin M. Kern, Disney "was partial to fruit pies and gelatin desserts, custards, [and] bread pudding..." He would have such desserts after most dinners at home, with a particular preference for butterscotch-flavored items. As Marcy Carriker Smothers reports in her 2017 book "Eat Like Walt," "Butterscotch was Walt's favorite flavor, either as a pudding or Chinese candy cookies, a confection of chow mein noodles, peanuts, and melted butterscotch."

He was also partial to a certain lemon chiffon pie with a graham cracker crust, which the family also knew as Chris' Cold Pie, named after Disney's first grandson, Christopher Disney Miller. But those who knew Disney best also knew that he could be a bit particular about his dessert preferences. As much as he liked pies, puddings, and fruit-based desserts, woe befell anyone who dared stray into cake territory. According to legend, the family cook once made a whipped cream cake that Disney complained about to his wife, Lillian, so much that she finally had enough and threw a piece of it in his face. This was reportedly followed by a food fight, so perhaps the cake wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Like any warm-blooded human being, Walt Disney didn't just eat during meals. He also had preferred snacks, including oyster crackers, which he often kept in his pockets to munch on after a meal of chili. According to Kevin M. Kern, "his family recalled it wasn't uncommon to find them stashed in such a way, or to find crumbs in his suit pockets as a result."

If you don't know what oyster crackers are, you would be forgiven for thinking they contain oysters. They don't — instead, many people believe oyster crackers got their name because they were frequently eaten with oyster stew. Others took notice of their shape and assumed they were named oyster crackers because of the resemblance. We may never know the full truth, but we do know (as did Disney) that oyster crackers make a great accompaniment to soup, and that they can be quite satisfying when eaten on their own as a snack.

While Walt Disney was no stranger to dining out, it seems as though his favorite way to dine was with his family at home, where their cook would prepare all their meals. On these occasions, he would joyfully partake in cube steak, roast lamb, potatoes and gravy, and pan-fried chicken, among other simple delicacies. In other words, he was a real meat-and-potatoes guy.

According to Mouse Planet, his daughter Diane once wrote that he also liked hamburgers, western sandwiches, chicken livers, and roast beef sandwiches but no expensive steak cuts. He reportedly developed these preferences in financially leaner years when he frequently ate in hash houses (which were inexpensive diners) and lunch wagons (basically old-school food trucks) to save money. It should come as no surprise, then, that when he did dine out, he liked to frequent Tam O'Shanter in Los Angeles, a Scottish pub known for its traditional meat-and-potatoes fare.

While it's well documented that Walt Disney enjoyed meat and potatoes, he also didn't shy away from vegetables. According to Kevin M. Kern, he liked to choose from a variety of canned goods, such as sweet corn and peas, but he also consumed plenty of fresh vegetables, like carrots, stewed tomatoes, leafy spinach, and Waldorf salad, which contains apples, celery, walnuts, raisins, and a simple Waldorf dressing prepared with nothing but mayo, salt, and pepper.

That said, vegetables were not his go-to favorite. According to Mouse Planet, his daughter Diane once wrote that he wasn't one for vegetables, but he did tend to choose at least one specimen per meal. He also famously enjoyed V8 juice, especially with his chili. He even served the drink as an aperitif to his guests whenever they visited him at his studio. This often surprised international guests, in particular, who were used to receiving aperitifs with a bit more of a kick.

Walt Disney didn't just name his parks after himself. The parks also set up restaurants that mirrored some of his personal culinary tastes, which incidentally happen to match popular American theme park fare, like hot dogs, fried chicken, and ice cream. He also enjoyed mint juleps. In particular, according to Kevin M. Kern, "early in the park's history — including for business lunches — he would frequent the Red Wagon Inn, later known as the Plaza Inn."

This restaurant caters to simple tastes like Disney's, and today, it includes items on the menu like fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, pasta with marinara sauce, chopped salad, and chocolate cheesecake. The breakfast menu is equally simple, but it does include visits from costumed Disney characters roaming the restaurant during the all-you-can-eat buffet, though this is hardly similar to what Disney himself experienced back in the day. The restaurant was also outfitted with a VIP lounge, wet bar, and private bathroom for Disney's guests.

Even though Walt Disney seemed to take his V8 juice alcohol-free, he was no teetotaler. Kevin M. Kern explained that he always enjoyed a good whiskey, especially when consumed in the form of a mint julep or a Scotch Mist. True to form, these are very simple cocktails: The mint julep typically consists of bourbon, mint, simple syrup, and crushed ice, while the Scotch Mist is just Scotch, crushed ice, and a twist of lemon or orange. The Scotch Mist is sometimes complemented with soda or sometimes served straight-up.

Disney seems to have become fond of the drink during his frequent visits to the Tam O'Shanter pub in Los Angeles. Today, Disney fans can still dine there and order a Scotch Mist in honor of their hero. Since these drinks are so simple, though, you can easily make them at home. This classic mint julep recipe will come in handy for that, while the Scotch Mist will depend on your personal preferences for Scotch and ingredient proportions.

According to Kevin M. Kern, Walt Disney enjoyed flavored sodas, like any self-respecting Midwesterner of his day. And thanks to Marcy Carriker Smothers' "Eat Like Walt," we also know that his favorite flavor (for soda as well as pretty much anything else) was butterscotch.

Indeed, Disneyland boasts an old-fashioned soda fountain at the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain & Chocolate Shop, where various flavored sodas can be ordered alongside sundaes and chocolatey beverages. This venture is most likely much more successful than the ill-fated attempt by Disney's father, Elias, to invest in a soda company — O-Zell — with a business partner who instantly swindled him. The original O-Zell, where Walt Disney himself briefly worked on the factory floor, is now defunct, but the name has since been revived and the company now sells a variety of old-fashioned soda flavors, including vanilla and orange dreamsicle (but alas, no butterscotch).

If you're reading this article looking for Walt Disney-approved recipes, there is one that might satisfy your craving. That's the Macaroni Mickey Mousse, which, according to Mouse Planet, appeared in the February 1934 issue of Better Homes and Gardens and represents one of Disney's favorite meals. In fact, the magazine claimed that Disney's love of cheese is in part what inspired the creation of his iconic character, Mickey Mouse.

As the story goes, when Disney was working as a commercial artist, his studio was infested with mice, but he didn't mind. In fact, he started feeding them bits of cheese until one of them became so familiar with him that it climbed onto his drawing board, allegedly becoming the first model for the mouse we know and love today. The recipe is similar to many other mac and cheese recipes, but Disney would sometimes have his cook prepare it with celery, sometimes with parsley, and sometimes with some bacon.

Another favorite Disney family recipe, beloved by Walt Disney himself and by his first grandson, Christopher Disney Miller, was a lemon chiffon dessert on a graham cracker crust known in the family as Chris' Cold Pie. The pie has a pudding-like texture because of the separated eggs and unflavored gelatin, and it's consistent with Disney's preference for custard-like desserts.

It's also rather simple in nature, as were many things Disney liked. Walt Disney's favorite lemon chiffon pie only contains eggs, lemon, water, gelatin, sugar, and the graham cracker crust recipe found on a typical box. It doesn't even need to be baked, and (as the name suggests) it's served cold. When making your own lemon chiffon pie at home, be sure to follow our tips for choosing the juiciest lemon possible. And if you've never made a graham cracker crust before, this simple graham cracker crust recipe will likely come in handy.