Sometimes called the greatest chef who ever lived, Auguste Escoffier created a dessert of poached peach halves, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce in honor of Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba. A Frenchman, Escoffier worked at the Ritz Hotel in London in the early 1900s, the period when Melba performed regularly at the Covent Garden opera house. Escoffier also created Melba toast—bread heated in a low oven until golden brown and very brittle—in Melba's honor.