Peach Melba

Peach Melba is a dessert traditionally composed of fresh peaches, vanilla ice cream, and a sweetened raspberry puree. Its origin is credited to the legendary chef Auguste Escoffier. Various stories have circulated as to how and when he invented it. All versions agree that the dish was named after the Australian opera diva Helen Porter Mitchell, whose stage name was Nellie Melba. She frequently appeared in Covent Garden during the 1890s and early 1900s and ate at Escoffier’s restaurants in London. Escoffier states that he thought up this dessert when the Hotel Ritz was opened in Paris in 1905, but that he first served it at the Carlton Hotel opened in London in July 1906. However, the first located printed use of the dish dates to 1904 and Edith Wharton mentions “Peches a La Melba” in her novel, The House of Mirth, first published in 1905. Whatever the date of its origin, it was served in restaurants in the United States during the early twentieth century, and the dish remains the most popular peach dessert in America.