Beef Wellington: A Legendary Napoleonic History
This post is part of the History of Food series, a revived project from 2021 that explores the origin stories of traditional dishes, the lessons they can teach us, and the people who keep the food alive. In each post, we visit a restaurant that puts their spin on a classic dish.
There are few words capable of evoking as much national pride in the British as Waterloo.
The term is almost synonymous with nationalism in the UK. How did this come to be?
Napoleon Bonaparte, hated by the rest of the European powers, had ruled Europe as Emperor of France until his first defeat in April 1814. After his exile to the island of Elba, Louis XVIII took power in France.
But Louis proved unpopular.
Spurred by the king’s lack of favour, Napoleon returned to France 10 months after exile and reclaimed his throne.
Outraged, a coalition of Prussia, Britain, Austria and Russia prepared for an invasion against France.
But Napoleon, hoping to secure a few victories before sitting down at the negotiating table, took the initiative and attacked first. He first targeted Prussia and British forces in Belgium. Though the combined coalition forces outnumbered the French, Napoleon split the forces down the middle and forced both into an initial retreat.
3 days later the British, under the command of Duke of Wellington Arthur Wesselly, halted their retreat and dug in at a small Belgium town: Waterloo. There, they prepared for historically defining battle.
Wellington described the subsequent battle as “a damn near run thing”.
The intense combat between the British and French went back and forth, and only came to an end when Prince Blücher and the Prussian army arrived, forcing Napoleon’s retreat.
The Battle of Waterloo claimed 50,000 lives on all sides, but secured Napoleon’s subsequent surrender.
The British swiftly exiled him to the remote island of St. Helena, where he died 6 years later.
Wellington, on the other hand, became a national hero across the British Empire. He is the namesake of various spots, including New Zealand’s capital. He later became UK Prime Minister.
What better way to immortalise a nation hero than to name a dish after them?
The classic British dish beef wellington, a whole piece of beef wrapped up in pâte de foie gras, rolled in pastry, glazed and then baked, is widely believed to have been named after the Duke.
I suppose the irony that the dish is so heavily inspired by French cuisine was lost on the British.
Did Wellington himself care for the dish? Perhaps he loved it, perhaps not. Legends tell both tales.
But the facts say neither.
Chances are that Wellington never set his eyes upon the dish in his life. Though British cooks have been baking pastries since at least the 14th century, and even the ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians dabbled in the art, the beef wellington doesn’t appear in British cookbooks until the 1970s.
The dish rose to popularity in the 1960s not in Britain, but across the pond in the United States. The dish skyrocketed to fame after TV chef Julia Child included the recipe in her famous “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” cookbook.
Yes, that’s right. The classic “British” dish, named after the French-crushing war hero, is in fact a French dish better known on the continent as “filet de boeuf en croûte.”
The love of Wellington is hardly Britain’s first foray into nationalism.
In fact, it’s clear that nationalism is back on the rise.
While a love for one’s country can bring a nation together like a temporary emulsion, as it did for nations across the continent during the recent Euro 2024 tournament, dishes like the beef wellington and beouf a croûte remind us that we have more in common with our neighbouring nations than we like to think.
We all sauté our vegetables, liaison with our neighbours, and feel that sense of deja vu when we’re knocked out of a football tournament. (Perhaps the latter more so if you’re on the English side of the continent).
Beef Wellington at The Admiral Hardy, Greenwich
The Admiral Hardy is a quiet little pub at the corner of Greenwich Market, in the heart of the London borough.
The competition in the market is tough: food stalls offer everything from empanadas and German bread to American doughnuts and vegan cakes vie for your attention.
But, we visited on a Sunday, and a Sunday begs for a roast dinner.
Thus, the Admiral won the battle for our attention. Their “beef” wellington — a sweet potato, chestnut and confit garlic spin on the original dish — suppressed any doubt that arose from the smell of baked empanadas drifting over to our table.