8. Beef Wellington became connected to a man who cared little for food
Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, was famous in his lifetime for his complete disregard for the food placed before him. According to one of his fellow officers, his indifference went so far that he once ate a rotten egg without comment, apparently unaware of what he was doing. Curiously enough, the man Wellington defeated in his most famous victory at Waterloo shared his lack of regard for food, though Napoleon was finicky about bread. It is often reported that one of Wellington’s frustrated chefs invented the idea of cooking beef loin in a puff pastry crust, naming the dish Beef Wellington, but recipes for beef cooked in pastry, in the same manner, were over a century old when Wellington was alive.
Following the victory at Waterloo Wellington was England’s greatest hero since Lord Nelson, and his name appeared on numerous products, items of clothing, and the famous tall boots he favored. His popularity waned throughout his political career but rebounded as the centennial of Waterloo neared, especially as patriotism surged during the First World War. Beef Wellington has no connection with the man who became known as the Iron Duke. That appellation was not meant to be a compliment, by the way, it was bestowed by the magazine Punch after his political policies became so unpopular that he had to install iron bars on the windows of his home to prevent the mob from breaking them.