The true story of the origin of peche Melba is not generally known. According to the legend the famous chef, Escoffier, invented this dish as a tribute to Dame Nellie Melba - as from one artist to another. Having heard Mme. Melba sing, so the story goes, he was so enthralled by her art that he racked his brains to create something worthy of her talents. So he returned to his kitchen and produced peche Melba to express his appreciation of her art.
It is a charming story, but, unfortunately, like many other good stories, it is untrue. As a matter of fact, Escoffier did not hear Mme Melba sing till long after he had prepared the dish for her. Many years ago M. Escoffier was chef at the Hotel Carlton in London. It happened that Mme. Melba was a guest at this hotel and was very fond of ice-cream. When the chef heard of her weakness, for a frozen dessert he prepared a dish of ice-cream with a whole peach and added a pink sauce - sauce Cardinal - to give it an added flavour. The diva enjoyed it so much that she ordered it again and again, so that eventually it became a fixture on the hotel menu. As it had been served first to Mme Melba it was called "peche Melba." With that introduction it became popular with Londoners, and gradually it became known all over the world.
The Irish Times, November 29th, 1930.