Nothing I like better than pondering (and frankly spinning tales) than the origins of ‘named’ foods. All we actually know is that Escoffier created two dishes named for Melba. Everything else is … well, not outside the realm of the possible. And that brings me to today’s topic.
Happy Melba Toast day.
I’ve always been entertained by the Melba-verse of food. We all know about Peach Melba, yes? Created by Escoffier & named for Nellie Melba, who was by all accounts wretched to her fellow performers and a true A-class pain in a more general sense.
Despite this, Escoffier sort of dug her vibe and he made this dessert for her and in honour of her. It makes you wonder about Escoffier. It really does. But never mind. He’s Escoffier and apparently that’s enough (don’t get me started on the classification of sauces… never mind. I digress). OK, so peach Melba. We’re all on the same page, yes?
Good – because it’s not Peach Melba Day. It’s Melba Toast Day – the drier, less calorific and frankly more useful side of the Melba-verse. It too was created by Escoffier. Story is Nellie had a dodgy tummy or was dieting or something like that. Maybe she’d overindulged on Peach Melbas and the costumes were getting a bit snug.
Or Escoffier was just hung up on her. Or the hotel – The Ritz, dahling… always the Ritz – wanted to keep the resident diva sweet so they didn’t have waves of maids quitting.
For whatever reason, did toast need someone of Escoffier’s magnitude to create it? Who knows. But he did. And César Ritz named it. So from a name-dropping standpoint, and that’s what matters in vague culinary history, Melba toast is in an even stronger position than the dessert.
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