GeorgesAuguste Escoffier (1846-1935) came from a family of French blacksmiths,but his uncle, who owned a restaurant in Nice needed a boy as scullionin the kitchen, and so began the career of one of the greatest culinarymasters in history.  Not only did Escoffier become a good and greatchef and writer of cookbooks but he also re-organized the way we eat andthe way food is prepared and presented.  Before Escoffier, great plattersof food were placed on banquet tables as they had been since medieval times,but Escoffier began serving meals in courses, one dish after the otherrather than all at once.  Kitchen staffs were organized by him into"stations" working together for more efficiency, a system that continuesto this day.  Kaiser Wilhelm II once told him, "I am the Emperor ofGermany, but you are the Emperor of chefs."  The French governmentawarded him the Legion of Honor.  Numerous restaurants are named forhim, professional chefs honor him all over the world, and his home in thesouth of France is now a Museum of Culinary Art. In the late 19th centuryhe was in London, the executive chef at de luxe hotels owned by  CesarRitz, first at the Savoy, later at the Carlton.

Helen Porter MitchellArmstrong (1861-1931), left her husband and young baby in Australia because she was determinedto become a great singer.  She began vocal training. Her progresswas so meteoric and her soprano voice so fine that soon she was singingwith the greats of Europe, traveling all over the world. She called herself Nellie Melba, taking a surname that reminded her ofher home city of Melbourne.  In 1894, when she was appearing at CoventGarden in London and staying at TheSavoy Hotel, she sent a pair of tickets to a performance of Lohengrinto the Maitre Chef (executive chef) at the hotel, who had named MelbaToast in her honor a few years earlier.  So impressed was Escoffier,the chef, by the performance that when he was preparing a supper for thediva and her guests the following night, he created a dessert of peachesand vanilla ice cream with a magnificent ice sculpture of a swan, reminiscentof the swan-boat featured in the opera.   He called it "Pecheau Cygne" or "Peach with Swan" but a few years later, at the opening ofthe new Ritz Carlton Hotel in London, he added a raspberry puree sauceto the recipe and re-named it "Peche Melba" in honor of the opera singerwho had originally inspired it.

Escoffier's recipegoes something like this:

Prepare a raspberrysauce by crushing ripe berries through a fine sieve to remove the seeds,then mix the resulting puree with powdered sugar to sweeten it and thickenit slightly. Chill the sauce.

Serve the sliced peachesover vanilla ice cream, and cover with the raspberry sauce.
Sprinkle over thetop some freshly sliced almonds (optional). Add a lace of spun sugar (optional)and an ice sculpture of a swan (very optional).

There are several variationsto be found on other web sites, and here are a few you might wish to investigate:

Would you like to hearNellie Melba sing?
Clickhere to visit a page with a brief biography and play a recording ofher voice.

WhoCooked That Up? is copyrighted 2000 by J.J. Schnebel
all rights reservedfor your pleasure and enlightenment

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