The pizza Margherita is named after an Italian queen, and chef extraordinaire Auguste Escoffier created Melba toast for an opera singer. Dishes inspired by women can be found everywhere.
All sides of her – an ode in culinary classics.
Anna Pavlova
The famous Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova was a living legend, world-famous in her time. Besides her legendary performance of The Dying Swan – incidentally, a choreography created especially for her – the airy, sweet dessert Pavlova was inspired by her.
In 1935, her graceful, feather-light ballet style inspired Australian chef Herbert Sachse, at the Esplanade Hotel in Perth, to create a recipe that is light (a base of meringue; airy whipped egg whites), expressive (brightly coloured red fruits such as berries and raspberries) and dreamy (a cloud-like, pillowy layer of whipped cream)
Dame Nellie Melba
The Australian hundred-dollar note features the face of Dame Nellie Melba, a soprano who became known for her particularly agile, light voice with a high range of up to three octaves.
Peach Melba is a colourful dish thanks to the yellow-red of the peach, topped with a bright pink raspberry sauce. With the creamy vanilla ice cream on the side, you can quite easily imagine how the dessert’s inspiration came from an opera singer.
‘The first rule in opera is
the first rule in life: see to
everything yourself ’
DAME NELLIE MELBA
Sonia Rykiel
During her pregnancy in the early 1960s, French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel found the selection of clothing to be rather mediocre. She picked up the knitting needles herself and created what would later become an iconic garment: the comfortably fitting poor-boy jumper.
Le Club
Born in a suburb of Paris, Sonia Rykiel was a full-blooded Parisian: confident, elegant and outspoken. She knew what she wanted. Sonia regularly frequented the Café de Flore, an institution in the Parisian district of Saint-Germain. She was right at home there, alongside celebrities such as actress Catherine Deneuve, singer Juliette Gréco and journalist Claire Chazal. Together with her daughter Stephanie, Sonia always had a regular table reservation: every day, until 1:30 p.m. If you tried to squeeze in between, you were briskly sent away by the waiter. The Club Rykiel has been on the lunch menu there for years, a simple but tasty sandwich named after her and catered to her taste. Sonia’s order was based on Café de Flore’s existing club sandwich, but she asked the chef to omit the bread and mayonnaise. So the Club Rykiel became a lighter version, made with the best ingredients. The result is a small, savoury flavour bomb – an ode you can whip up at home for lunch in no time.
Place du Jeu de Balle
Every morning, Place du Jeu de Balle comes alive with Brussels' oldest flea market. In the heart of the Marollen district, antique dealers, collectors and curious wanderers search for forgotten treasures. Surrounded by vintage stores and second-hand boutiques, it remains one of the city's most authentic corners.
Treasure hunters experience Brussels as one big treasure hunt. The famous, old-fashioned flea market at Vossenplein is one to get up early for. Here every day there’s a chance you will go home with a design gem, literally and figuratively. Vossenplein, called Place du Jeu de Balle in French, refers to the ball games that took place there in the nineteenth century. Continue on to Rue Haute (High Street) and Rue Blaes (Blaes Street), whose high density of retro and second-hand shops turns the De Marollen neighbourhood into a veritable vintage.
