Are you ever curious as to how some dishes got their names? For instance, did you know that Peach Melba was created in the late 1800s by the famous French chef Escoffier for Dame Nellie Melba, a popular Australian opera singer.

It’s made with two peach halves that have been poached in syrup and cooled. Each peach half is placed hollow side down on a scoop of vanilla ice cream, then topped with “Melba sauce” (a raspberry sauce) and sometimes with whipped cream and sliced almonds. You may also have heard of Melba toast, also created by Escoffier for the same lady, is a toast that is exceedingly thin and dry. It’s sold packaged in most supermarkets and is used usually to accompany soups and salads. However, it is also given to babies when they are teething.

If you like crepe desserts, certainly one of the most elegant is Crepes Suzette, which was supposedly created in 1898 for the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, at the Cafe de Paris in Monte Carlo. It was named by the prince himself after his beautiful companion, Suzette.

The origin of Steak Diane continues to me to be a mystery. However, I did learn that the description a la Diane in French cuisine is given to certain game dishes that are dedicated to the goddess Diana, the huntress. Game such as venison is coated with a sauce Diana, which is a highly peppered sauce with cream and truffles. I surmise that perhaps a beef lover (like me) may have substituted steak for game.

Filed Under: Culinary History