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Currents
December 2018
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Have you ever tasted carpaccio? This delicious
dish of thinly sliced raw beef enhanced with a mouth-
watering dressing was created in 1950 by Giuseppe
Cipriani, owner of the legendary Harry’s Bar in
Venice (Note 2). Cipriani dubbed this appetizer
carpaccio (Note 3) to honor the famous Venetian
painter, Vittore Carpaccio (1465-1520). The deep
red color of the raw beef resembled the intense red,
characteristic of Carpaccio’s works.
Fettuccine Alfredo is another international Italian
specialty. It is a richer version of
the traditional fettuccine al burro
(butter). In 1908, the Roman chef
Alfredo di Lelio (1882-1959) wor-
ried because his wife was very
weak after giving birth to their
son. In order to whet her appetite,
Alfredo added extra butter and
cheese to the recipe, and then
tossed this rich mixture into the
fettuccine.
Di Lelio’s creation worked
wonders for his wife and also for
his business. Customers flocked
to his restaurant to watch the
choreographic spectacle of chef
Alfredo tossing his fettuccine and
then to savor this delectable
pasta.
Not many people have a spe-
cial dish named after them, and
only a few have more than one.
Nellie Melba, Australia’s first inter-
nationally acclaimed soprano, can
claim this honor. Born as Helen
Porter Mitchell (1861-1931), she
chose Nellie Melba as her stage
name – Nellie, a childhood nick-
name, and Melba, a reminder of
her hometown Melbourne.
In 1893 when Nellie was stay-
ing at the Savoy Hotel in London,
the great French chef Auguste
Escoffier, one of her avid fans,
prepared a special dessert. He
called his beautiful combination of
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