25 Dishes and Drinks Named After Famous People

What’s in a name? If you’re talking about food, there’s plenty of famous people hidden within the monikers of beloved dishes. Some of these foodie figures you’ve heard of, while others are historical giants that were well known once upon a time. Here’s who some of your favorite dishes and drinks are named after.

Whether you put turkey or chicken in it, tetrazzini’s name comes from the Italian opera star Luisa Tetrazzini. Born in Florence, Italy, she toured through Europe and America from the 1890s through the 1920s. Though the exact origins of the dish are murky, the fact that it was named for Luisa is not.

Though sports fans know Arnold Palmer as a pro golf legend, many others know him only by his namesake drink. He was a fan of the tea and lemonade mix, and once asked a waitress to mix him one. A woman overheard the order, asked for a “Palmer drink,” and the rest is history.

If you’ve ever wanted an Arnold Palmer with alcohol, chances are you’ve ordered (or seen on a menu) a John Daly. The drink is named after a pro golfer, too, though one who was well known for imbibing. Though it probably started out as a joke, the name stuck.

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Cobb salad — typically made with chicken, bacon, avocado, hard boiled eggs, and blue cheese — was invented at the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood back in the 1930s. Stories vary, but it was either invented by the owner, Robert Cobb, who threw together a bunch of kitchen leftovers one night, or created by the chef and named after the owner.

There’s a love story behind fettuccine Alfredo. In 1914, a restaurant owner in Rome made the dish for his wife, who had recently given birth to their child but hadn’t regained her appetite. His name was Alfredo Di Lelio, and you can bet that the dish was well received by his wife. Unlike the goopy Alfredo sauce found in jars, though, the traditional way to make it is with only butter and Parmesan cheese.

Famous French chef Auguste Escoffier created peach melba at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1893. There was a special dinner in honor of opera singer Nellie Melba who performed nearby, and Escoffier named the dessert after her. Supposedly, the dessert was originally presented in an ice sculpture of a swan.

You may be surprised to hear that Caesar salad was invented not in Italy, but in Mexico — though it was by an Italian immigrant. In 1924, Caesar Cardini created the salad at his restaurant in Tijuana. Though he wasn’t particularly famous at the time, he certainly is now that his namesake salad is so ubiquitous.

This iconic cherry and chocolate ice cream by Ben & Jerry’s was originally suggested by a fan. “You know it will sell because Dead paraphernalia always sells,” they said about the Jerry Garcia and Grateful Dead-inspired flavor. Clearly, they were right.

Kung pao chicken, a popular Chinese dish, was named after a real person: 19th century Chinese official Ding Baozhen. Because he was a tutor to imperial princes, he was known as Gong Bao, a title that meant Palace Guardian. Despite moving around China in different government positions, he was well known for his love of stir-fried chicken with chiles, and often served it to guests.

There’s some dispute as to who Baby Ruth candy bars are named after, but both are famous people. The first is that it’s named after Ruth Cleveland, daughter of President Grover Cleveland. This is the official explanation from the candy’s company, but that Ruth died 17 years before the bar hit the market. It may have just been a story for the company to avoid the ire (and lawsuits) of Babe Ruth, the famous baseball player the candy was more likely named after.

Though no one’s 100% sure, the most widely accepted origin of the name Margherita pizza is that it was named after Margherita of Savoy. She was the queen of Italy, and legend has it that she ordered a pizza with her preferred toppings from Pizzeria Brandi in Naples in 1889. The pizza maker named the Napoletana-style pizza with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil after her.

Believe it or not, we can trace the origin of nachos to a specific person and place. In 1940, a group of customers at a hotel bar in Piedras Negras, a Mexican border town, wanted something to eat after hours. Ignacio Anaya, whose nickname was Nacho, made them a plate of crispy chips topped with colby cheese and pickled jalapenos. They loved it and called it Nacho’s Special, and it became a staple on the menu.

Oysters Rockefeller was created at Antoine’s, a famous New Orleans restaurant. In 1899, Chef Jules Alciatore made an oyster dish so rich that he named it after the richest person in the world at the time, John D. Rockefeller. It’s made with oysters on the half-shell baked with greens, butter, and breadcrumbs.

The favorite kiddie cocktail of your childhood, the Shirley Temple, was indeed named after the curly-haired Hollywood child star of the 1930s. Supposedly, the actress wanted a cocktail of her own when she went out to eat with her parents, and a bartender whipped up the version with soda, grenadine, and a maraschino cherry.

Yes, the Elvis sandwich (and any other Elvis-style food with peanut butter and bacon) is actually named after the King himself. It all started when he ordered a Fool’s Gold Loaf at the Colorado Mine Company restaurant. It was made with an entire loaf of sourdough bread, hollowed out and filled with a pound of bacon and jars of peanut butter and grape jelly. He loved it so much that he famously flew his private jet back to Denver one night, where the owner of the restaurant brought him loaves of the specialty sandwich.

There really was an Earl Grey, and he really did create his namesake black tea with bergamot. Charles, the second Earl Grey, was also British Prime Minister in the 1830s. He made tea with the addition of bergamot oil from a Mediterranean citrus fruit.

This delicious cocktail of Prosecco and peach puree was created at Harry’s Bar in Venice, Italy, sometime in the 1930s or ‘40s. The color of the drink reminded the bar’s owner, Giuseppe Cipriani, of a painting by 15th-century Venetian artist Giovanni Bellini.

Graham crackers are named after its creator, Sylvester Graham. He was a 19th century health reformer and religious figure who was a big fan of temperance, vegetarianism, and abstinence. He created the crackers as part of a healthy diet full of whole grains and cereals.

Beef Wellington is a fancy and complicated recipe of beef tenderloin wrapped in chopped mushrooms and baked in puff pastry. It was probably named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, in honor of his 1815 victory against Napoleon at Waterloo.

Kaiser rolls, the little breads with a distinctive swirl or crown on top, originated centuries ago in Austria. It’s said that they were named after Kaiser Franz Josef I, Austria’s emperor from 1848 to 1916, who enjoyed eating them for breakfast. Nowadays, it’s common to see the rolls with sesame or poppy seeds on top.

While New Zealand and Australia constantly fight over which country was the first to create the dessert, there’s no dispute that it was named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. The show-stopping dish is made of crunchy, chewy meringue, whipped cream, and fruit, and is a favorite during holidays.

This brunch cocktail of tomato juice, seasonings, and vodka has a murky history. The most common story is that it’s named after Queen Mary Tudor of England, who earned the “Bloody” moniker by executing her enemies. Others say it was actually named after a waitress named Mary at the Bucket of Blood saloon in Chicago. Either way, both options are delightfully morbid.

Dr Pepper is one of the oldest soft drinks in the U.S., and it really was named after a doctor. The creator of the soda, Wade Morrison, was once in love with the daughter of Dr. Charles Pepper, a Virginia doc.

Beef stroganoff, in all its retro glory, was named after Count Pavel Aleksandrovich Stroganoff, a Russian military commander in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He had French and Russian heritage, and the dish is said to have been created by his cook as a union of French (mustard) and Russian (sour cream) ingredients.

Created at Brennan’s restaurant in New Orleans, bananas foster is named after former New Orleans Crime Commission chairman Richard Foster. The restaurant’s manager, Ella Brennan, was tasked with creating a dish to honor him, so she grabbed bananas and flambéed them tableside before serving over ice cream.