Sweet onions, rich beef broth, funky Gruyère cheese and precious memories fill every bowl of this nostalgic soup.
On a cold gray day, nothing is more comforting for me than a bowl of French onion soup. Not Julia’s. Not Ina’s. For me, it must be Chef Manfred Zettl’s recipe, the soup he made famous for Famous-Barr department stores. Bermuda onions, white wine, a rich beef broth and that funky Swiss cheese that always burns the roof of your mouth make this soup among the best I’ve ever had. My mom's Gashtel Soup in Beef Broth would be a very close second!
Famous-Barr was a chain of department stores in St. Louis with roots that go back to 1913. My family often visited the flagship location in the once beautiful Railway Exchange building downtown on Olive Street. Inside, the elegant tearoom served ladies lunch.
When we moved to the southern part of the city, the nearest Famous-Barr was its Southtown store that opened in 1951. Mom and I often had the French Onion Soup Au Gratin in the Mississippi Room there. The soup was always served in the iconic McCoy Pottery crocks with handles, and you only had to touch that scorching handle once to know to use the cloth napkin when turning it on the plate. The rich, thick onion soup was ladled into the crock then topped with two small slices of a baguette and mounds of grated Gruyère cheese that oozed and browned under the oven’s broiler.
I included this recipe in my Three Women in the Kitchen cookbook, too. I'm tasting it in my mind right now, so let’s make some soup.
You will need the following ingredients to make Famous-Barr’s French Onion Soup, which yields 2 quarts (about 8 servings).
3 pounds of Bermuda onions
4 ounces butter
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons paprika
1 bay leaf
¼ cup flour
3 quarts beef stock
1 cup white wine
2 teaspoons salt
Gruyère cheese, sliced (about 12 ounces)
French baguette, (16 slices)
Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce
Bermuda onions are recommended because of the sweetness and milder flavor. These onions have a slightly flattened top and papery skins. If your market doesn’t have these, Vidalia onions are a good substitute.
Gruyère cheese is preferred in this recipe, but I’ve also simply used sliced Swiss from my market’s deli counter.
Follow these directions to make Famous-Barr French Onion Soup
Peel onions and slice thin, about 1/8 inch. Mom often used the slicing blade on her food processor. A mandoline slicer would also do the job for you.
In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat; don’t let it brown. Once melted, add the sliced onions to the pot, turn heat down to low and cook slowly for 1½ hours, stirring every 15 minutes. Add a few Tablespoons of water when needed to keep onions from scorching. You want them to caramelize.
Add pepper, paprika, bay leaf, flour, white wine and salt. Stir to combine and cook another 10 minutes.
Add the beef stock and simmer an additional 2 hours. If additional salt is needed, add to your taste. Add a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet browning sauce to enrich the color to a deeper brown.
To serve, fill individual soup crock ¾ way with soup. Top with 2 slices of bread and about 1½ ounces of cheese per serving. Place under broiler until cheese is slightly golden and melted. It’s desirable to have cheese ooze onto the sides of crock.
A tip from the kitchen
This soup is even better if you cool it and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to serve it, warm your desired number of servings before adding to the crocks and topping with bread and cheese. I think this also helps the soup to thicken more, which is a hallmark of this recipe.
If you're not a fan of onions but the idea of gooey cheese atop a crock of soup appeals to you, then you'll want my recipe for Slow Cooker Lasagna Soup.
More French onion soup lore
According to St. Louis’s culinary history, this onion soup recipe comes from Manfred Zettl, who was hired as executive chef at Famous-Barr in 1963. In a 2016 interview, Zettl explained his onion soup is inspired by his mother’s recipe for an onion soup made with water and stale bread that he often ate while growing up in Salzburg, Austria.
Most of us remember Zettl’s famous soup, but there was an onion soup on the Famous-Barr tearoom menus as early as 1942. If you’d like to compare the two recipes, check out this story from St. Louisan Harley Hammerman, owner of the Lost Tables/Dishes website and podcast.
Speaking of lost, I remember Mom buying a set of the McCoy soup crocks that came with a recipe card for the French Onion Soup. Over the years, I lost those special bowls but recently found a set on e-Bay. I’m sure the price I paid is three times what Mom paid, and if she were here, I think she’d have a chuckle about it! But at least I now can recreate the full memory when my family enjoys Famous-Barr French Onion Soup.
About the blog
Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.
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