Food focus: Beef Wellington
The Duke of Wellington. Prime minister, military hero and name behind the Wellington boot. But is he the inspiration behind the beloved British dish Beef Wellington?
Although history would have us believe that this pastry encased fillet of beef dish gets its name from being his Dukeness’ favourite, in reality when we look at British recipe books from way back there is no reference to it till the 20th century. Although it wouldn’t be hard to conceive that this could be an oversight, as by Wellington’s time, the British were well adept to cooking meat in pastry. And, as the French already had such a dish in their culinary repertoire known as “filet de boeuf en croûte” if that was fondly renamed in honour of Field Marshall Arthur Wellesley, then you wouldn’t be surprised.
But in reality, the first mention of this dish is in fact American. The Los Angeles Times published a recipe for “fillet of beef, a la Wellington” in 1903, though it was not quite the same as the dish we recognise today. It also appeared on Julia Child’s series ‘The French Chef ‘, broadcast on New Year’s Day 1965. That, and the fact it was famously known as a favourite dish at White House and also appeared in their 1968 cookbook, meant that it was hugely popular over the pond.
Whatever the history though, Beef Wellington is still a popular choice in the UK despite its unwarranted reputation for being unfashionable since the 80s. It’s also one of our favourites too and we’re happy to offer it as a hot buffet option, portioned or as individual mini Beef Wellingtons. Our version is stuffed with chicken liver pate, sautéed mushrooms and wrapped in beautiful puff pastry.
Traditionally, Beef Wellington is served with a Madeira sauce, but you could also choose another sauce such as a Bearnaise or Chateaubriand as an alternative. Potatoes (boiled or mashed) and seasonal vegetables are also the obvious accompaniment and finish off this delicious dish to a T!
If you’d like to speak to us about our Beef Wellington or anything else we have on our menu, then please do get in touch. As with all our dishes, we are happy to discuss your exact requirements and a food tasting can be arranged.
