Greenville Is The Birthplace Of Duke's Mayo–And This Trail Captures The Tradition

Any Southerner who knows their way around a kitchen is familiar with Duke’s Mayonnaise, a staple for tomato sandwiches, chicken salad and pimento cheese. The cult favorite has a different taste than most commercial mayos. It’s what the company refers to as a 'twang,' which is much like a tang, but more Southern. However you label the flavor, it comes from the lack of added sugar and a little bit of apple cider vinegar. Duke’s also has more eggs, making it thick, spreadable and delicious. 

The Family History Behind Duke's Mayo

Some people don’t know the origin of Duke’s Mayonnaise. In 1917, Greenville, South Carolina, resident Eugenia Duke started selling sandwiches with her homemade mayonnaise to soldiers at Fort Sevier. With a profit of two cents a sandwich, she saved for a year to buy a delivery truck, expanding distribution to the Ottaray Hotel’s Duke’s Tea Room, drugstores and grocery stores. On a salesperson’s suggestion, the mayonnaise became its own product, eclipsing the sandwich production. By 1929, it was so popular that Duke couldn’t keep up with the demand. She made the choice to sell, but left a legacy in Greenville as an amazingly successful female entrepreneur.

The Greenville Tour

The city of Greenville is honoring this early innovator with the Eugenia Duke’s Unofficial Mayo Guide to Greenville. There are twenty stops on the self-guided tour, including the Wyche Pavilion, site of Duke’s original bottling facility, the Camp Sevier Historical Marker near the National Guard training site, and the location of the Ottaray Hotel’s Duke’s Tea Room, currently a Hyatt Regency. The guide also directs tourists to take the footbridge named for Eugenia Duke that crosses the Reedy River.

Historical stops aren’t the only treat in store for Duke’s fans. After all, while the mayonnaise history is interesting, the real aficionados are ready to eat. The other places featured on the guide are all dedicated to Southern dishes highlighting Duke’s Mayonnaise.

Make Stops For Small Bites

• The tour offers both snacks and entrees, adaptable for your appetite. Consistent with anyone that experiences Greenville’s burgeoning food scene, you won’t leave hungry. Here are a few highlights: Smoked Carolina Fish Dip at Jones Oyster Company
• Giant Bavarian Pretzel with Duke’s-Made Dijon Mustard Dip at Group Therapy Pub & Playground
• Pork Cracklins with Pimento Cheese at Home Team BBQ.

Make Dinner Plans

Entrees spotlighted on the trail help visitors tour a selection of great restaurants. Here are a few favorites:

• The Lemon Basil Chicken Salad served on a butter croissant at City Scape Winery brings you back to earth after tasting some of the 25 offered wines at this beautiful venue.
• Crab Cakes with Sweet Corn Maque Choux
• Duke’s Mayo Remoulade takes you to Greenville mainstay Soby’s New South Cuisine
• Social Latitude took the iconic Southern tomato pie and made it into a toasted sandwich, with a secret Duke’s enhanced special sauce, marinated beef steak tomatoes, smoked cheddar and mozzarella cheese. “We took a family recipe and spent weeks creating a sandwich that tasted identical,” said Executive Chef Stephen Gossett, “The base of most of our sauces made in-house is Duke’s Mayonnaise."

Enjoy It At Home

If you just can’t make it to Greenville to take the culinary tour, author Ashley Freeman has a solution. Her official cookbook teaches cooks to make impeccable chicken salad along with scrambled eggs, pie crust, and even chocolate cake. After years of wanting to write her own cookbook, she was inspired in her kitchen by a container of Duke’s. Partnering with the brand, the cookbook came to life, celebrating the versatility of mayonnaise in Southern recipes.

“Duke’s is an essential sandwich spread, but it does so much more. It’s my secret ingredient to so many recipes. It provides a tender crumb in a cake. It helps grilled cheese brown up to crispy perfection. It allows the magical maillard reaction to occur when it’s brushed on the outsides of meat. It works great when breading chicken and other meat. It’s a tenderizer and locks in moisture when used as a marinade. The list goes on,” said Freeman.

Duke’s Mayonnaise is still made in Greenville according to Eugenia Duke’s original recipe. There’s no better place to celebrate a sauce that is the not-so-secret ingredient to so many favorite foods.