Which Boston hotel created Boston cream pie and Parker House rolls?

The Parker House Hotel in Boston created Boston cream pie and Parker House rolls.

The historic Boston hotel, now known as the Omni Parker House, opened in 1855 and became one of the city’s best-known dining destinations. In 1856, French chef Augustine Anezin reportedly created Boston cream pie in the hotel’s restaurant kitchen. The original dessert was closer to a layered cake than a modern pie, with custard or cream filling, chocolate icing, and additional French-inspired details such as a rum glaze and almonds.

Parker House rolls emerged in the hotel during the 1860s. Their distinctive folded shape and buttery crust are often explained by a story that an angry German baker placed unfinished rolls into the oven after an argument with a guest. Whether every detail of that story is true, the rolls became strongly associated with the hotel and were widely copied.

The hotel is also credited with coining “scrod,” a term for the freshest young white fish available that day. Boston cream pie was later designated Massachusetts’s official state dessert, extending the Parker House’s influence beyond the hotel’s dining room.