The History of Beef Wellington

Although Beef Wellington is widely regarded as a British food, its origins are actually a mystery. Both France and Britain have a longstanding history of eating meat encased in pastry, and the concept itself dates all the way back to ancient Greece and, later, ancient Rome. Pastry-wrapped meat was popular with soldiers, sailors, and other laborers, including England’s miners in Cornwall, who ate Cornish pasties regularly. Mince pies, meanwhile, were popular in England for holidays, and in France, filet de boeuf en croute and pâté en croute were both very popular pastry-encased meat dishes, with the latter dating all the way back to the Middle Ages. All of these dishes predate Beef Wellington any one of them may have influenced its development. It is widely believed that Beef Wellington got its name from Arthur Wellesley, the First Duke of Wellington, who famously defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. One version of the story suggests the dish already existed and was simply named after the Irish general (Steig Wellington, the Irish name for Beef Wellington, is now considered one of Ireland's traditional dishes). Other versions of the story suggest the dish was invented in his honor while still others suggest it was named for the shape of Wellington’s boots or even that Wellington himself may have directed his chef to create the dish as a way to feed his troops. However, the earliest written reference to the dish didn’t appear until 1903 — in an American newspaper. The dish was only mentioned once in a Chicago paper, then didn’t show up in writing again until it appeared in a New York newspaper in 1939, leading some historians to think that the dish’s Anglo-French origins may be entirely fabricated in an attempt to give an American dish more of a pedigree. We do know for certain that it was Julia Child who introduced Beef Wellington to the public. Between the 1960s and 1980s, Beef Wellington functioned as the pièce de résistance at many American dinner parties, allowing hosts to show off both their wealth and cooking skills. President Nixon was reportedly an avid fan and President John F. Kennedy was also fond of the dish. In recent years, Beef Wellington has experienced a resurgence in popularity, largely thanks to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. Many chefs have also created vegetarian versions of the dish, revitalizing it for the 21st century. Today, Beef Wellington remains a popular — if distinctly traditional — dish that is especially popular at holiday parties and formal gatherings on both sides of the pond.