We are in love with these iconic dishes, but we rarely look into the ways of how they have derived their names. Here are six such, classic legendary dishes, which have interesting stories behind their names.

In 1889, King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited Naples, tired of the rich French cuisine typical of European royalty. Seeking local fare, they invited famous Neapolitan pizza maker Raffaele Esposito to prepare a selection of pizzas. Esposito crafted a pie as per the colours of the unified Italian flag: Red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and fresh green basil. Queen Margherita favored this combination above all others, prompting Esposito to name the dish in her honour.

This light meringue-based dessert featuring a crisp crust and soft, marshmallow-like interior was created in the 1920s to honour world-renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova during her tour of Australasia. The chef aimed to capture the ethereal lightness and delicate white tutu of her famous performance in The Dying Swan. Both Australia and New Zealand passionately claim to be the true originators of the recipe.

In 1908, Roman restaurateur Alfredo di Lelio created an extra-rich version of fettuccine al burro (fettuccine with butter) to encourage his wife, Ines, to regain her appetite after giving birth. He doubled the amount of butter and emulsified it directly with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and starchy pasta water to create a silky, rich sauce. The dish gained global fame when Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks visited his Rome restaurant on their honeymoon in 1920.

Renowned French chef Auguste Escoffier created this classic dessert at the Savoy Hotel in London around 1892 for Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. After seeing her perform in Wagner’s opera Lohengrin—which featured a boat shaped like a swan—Escoffier presented poached peaches over vanilla ice cream in a silver bowl balanced atop an ice sculpture of a swan, later adding a tart raspberry purée to complete the dish.

This showstopping dish, tender beef fillet coated in mushroom duxelles and pate, encased in golden puff pastry, was created to celebrate Arthur Wellesley following his victory over Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Named after his newly granted title, the Duke of Wellington, the dish was designed to resemble the shiny leather of his namesake riding boots.

In 1943, a group of military wives from the nearby Eagle Pass Army Air Base entered the Victory Club restaurant in Piedras Negras, Mexico, after hours. The maître d', Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, couldn't find the chef. Improvising with what he had in the kitchen, he fried tortilla chips, topped them with shredded Wisconsin cheddar cheese and sliced pickled jalapeños, and heated them briefly. When asked what the delicious dish was called, he replied, "Nacho's Especiales."

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