Poire belle Hélène

Poire belle Hélène

Hélène might be getting on in years, but she has lost none of her timeless beauty and taste. Poire belle Hélène is still quite rightly a popular dessert.

It was invented by the great Auguste Escoffier, the pioneer of modern French cuisine. He invented it in 1870 when he was just 24 years old. He named his creation after the beautiful Hélène in Jacques Offenbach’s operetta “La belle Hélène”, which premiered on 17 December 1864 at the Théâtre des Variétés in Paris. Sweet, ripe pears are peeled and poached in white wine or water with lemon juice and sugar. After chilling, they are served with vanilla ice cream and hot chocolate sauce. In Escoffier’s time they were garnished with candied violets, but today they are perfectly rounded off by a couple of whipped cream rosettes.

This fabulous combination of juicy pears, bitter chocolate and smooth ice cream is still popular today and has a place on the dessert menus of many excellent restaurants. Bon appetit! Incidentally, Peach Melba is also one of Auguste Escoffier’s creations.

Text: Sabine Witt