The Legacy of These 10 Personalities is Forever Linked to Food Named After Them

Foot Items Named After Famous People

Though the origin of each cuisine is extremely intriguing for us humans we hardly sit and wonder how our favorite dish got its name.

Today it's only a matter of days before any new dish reaches every corner of the world, all thanks to the internet. However, not very long ago, just before Gen Z's time, many dishes would be named after the person who invented them or named in honor of a popular personality. Today we looking at the food items that were named after famous people.

1. Margherita pizza

A staple on every Pizza place's menu, the Pizza Margherita has been around for more than a thousand years and was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy to commemorate her visit to Naples. The dough base, which is topped with tomatoes, cheese, and basil leaves was to represent the Italian flag as the country was undergoing unification during the time. People today have extremely polarising thoughts on the origin story with some outrightly dismissing the theory as a myth.

2. Nachos

Nachos are loved globally and are a regular presence at every house party or game night. They were named after Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya, who was the maitre d' at Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico. He reportedly created it for a group of US military wives visiting from nearby Fort Duncan, he cut the tortillas into triangles, fried them, and topped them with cheese and jalapeños. The food was invented in 1941, and is considered one of the most sharable snacks ever created. 

3. Caesar salad

The salad was created by an Italian immigrant Caesar Cardini or probably by one of his associates at the Hotel Caesar which was situated in Tijuana, Mexico. The dish has romaine lettuce and croutons with a dressing of parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, egg, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and black pepper. The Italian man created this salad sometime in the 1920s in his restaurant when he reportedly had few ingredients in his kitchen, and it is now known for its simplicity.

4. Beef Stroganoff

The dish was named after Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov or Count Grigory Dmitriyevich Stroganov. The dish consists of pieces of meat in a sour cream and paprika sauce which was invented in the 19th century in Russia. The dish later became popular in China, Japan, and also USA just before the 20th century. Another theory suggests that it was invented for Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganov's open table in Odessa, which anyone "decent" could attend. The dish can be made in large quantities very easily and was relatively easy to cook and divide.

5. Clementines

These juicy oranges were named after the French monk named Pere Clément Rodier who was in Algeria in the later part of the 19th century. The monastery had an orchard where he grew the hybrid between mandarin and sweet oranges. However later it was found that this fruit was very close to the Canton mandarin which was widely grown in China. This fruit differs from other citrus fruits since it has lower heat requirements. There are three kinds of clementines, seedless, Monreal, and sweet clams.

6. Carpaccio

The dish was invented in 1963 by Giuseppe Cipriani who was the owner of the famous Harry's bar in Venice, Italy. The dish was essentially beef thinly sliced, served with a dressing. The dish is named after the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio who lived from 1465–1525/1526 and was famous for his use of deep shades of red in his works. The dish is typically an appetizer and was popularised during the second half of the twentieth century. 

7. Sandwich

Sandwiches did exist before the name was coined for them, but the particular version that we have today was invented by John Montagu who put filling in between two slices of bread. He was the fourth Earl of Sandwich which is a town in Kent, England. Today the dish has more than a hundred variants and is a popular kind of lunch taken to school, work, or even picnics.

8. Oyster Rockefeller

The dish was created in 1899 at Antoine's restaurant in New Orleans by Jules Alciatore who was the son of the founder Antoine. This dish of oysters topped with a rich herby sauce, was named after John D. Rockefeller who at the time was the wealthiest person in the world. The dish consists of oysters on the half-shell that have been topped with a rich butter sauce along with parsley and other green herbs.

9. Omelette Arnold Bennett

In 1929 the author Arnold Bennet was staying at the Savoy Hotel in London when Cjef Jean Baptiste Virloigeux created him an amazing breakfast dish. The dish consisted of an omelet topped with onions and pieces of smoked haddock and finished with both béchamel itself named after Louis de Bechamel, Marquis de Nointel, hollandaise, double cream, and parmesan. The dish is a perfect weekend breakfast option as it can be a little heavy for a weekday.

10. The Bellini cocktail

The Bellini was invented sometime between 1934 and 1948 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of Harry's Bar in Venice. It was named Bellini cause of its unique pink color that reminded him of the toga of a saint in a painting by Giovanni Bellini in the 15th century. It later became popular at the bar's New York branch and he started selling the peach puree that could be used to make the cocktail. It consists of puree of white peaches and Prosecco, an Italian sparkling wine.