List of Foods Named After People - R

R

• Lamprey à la Rabelais – François Rabelais (c. 1484–1553), French monk, turned physician, turned famed writer and satirist, was honored in this dish by Delmonico's chef Charles Ranhofer.
• Tournedos Rachel – from singing in the streets of Paris as a child, Swiss-born Elisa-Rachel Félix (1821–1858) went on to become known as the greatest French tragedienne of her day. Her stage name Rachel is used for a number of dishes—consommé, eggs, sweetbreads, et al.—many created by Escoffier. In New York City, Charles Ranhofer created "artichokes à la Rachel" in her honor.
• Ramos Gin Fizz – Henry C. Ramos, New Orleans bartender, created this cocktail c. 1888, at either Meyer's Restaurant or the Imperial Cabinet Saloon, and named it after himself.
• Chicken Raphael Weill – Raphael Weill (1837–1920) arrived in San Francisco from France at the age of 18. Within a few years he had founded what was to be one of California's largest department stores. Later he helped found the well-known Bohemian Club, which still exists. He liked to cook, and is remembered in San Francisco restaurants with this dish.
• Reggie Bar – Reggie Jackson (born 1946), American baseball player of the 1970s, had this now-extinct candy bar named for him.
• Salad Réjane – Gabrielle Réjane was the stage name for Gabrielle-Charlotte Reju (1856–1920), a French actress at the start of the 20th century. Escoffier named several dishes for her, including consommé, sole, and œufs à la neige.
• Reuben sandwich – possibly Reuben Kolakofsky (1874–1960) made it for a poker group gathered at his restaurant in an Omaha, Nebraska hotel c. 1925, or Arnold Reuben, a New York restaurateur (1883–1970), may have created and named it c. 1914.
• Rigó Jancsi – the Viennese chocolate and cream pastry is named after the Gypsy violinist, Rigó Jancsi (by Hungarian use, Rigó is his last name, Jancsi his first, called literally 'Blackbird Johnny'). He is perhaps best known for his part in one of the great late-19th-century society scandales. In 1896, Clara Ward, Princesse de Caraman-Chimay. The Princesse de Chimay saw the charming Rigó Jancsi, first violinist playing Hungarian Gypsy music in a Paris restaurant in 1896 while dining with her husband, Prince de Chimay. She ran off with Rigó, married him, divorced him, and later married two other men too.
• Robert E. Lee Cake – southern U.S. lemon layer cake named for American Civil War General Robert E. Lee (1807–1870).
• Oysters Rockefeller – John D. Rockefeller or family, by son of Antoine Alciatore Jules, 1899, at New Orleans restaurant Antoine's. The original recipe remains a family secret, but the mixed greens are not the spinach that now characterizes most versions.
• Strawberries Romanoff – although there are a number of claimants for the creation of this dish, including the Hollywood restaurateur self-styled "Prince Michael Romanoff", credit is most often given to Marie-Antoine Carême, when he was chef to tzar Alexander I around 1820. Romanoff was the house name of the Russian rulers.
• Ronald Reagan's Hamburger Soup – Ronald Reagan, while President, had this recipe issued publicly in 1986, after he had gotten flak for saying he liked French soups.
• Ross Sauce – a multipurpose barbecue sauce invented by Scott Ross in Habersham County, Georgia. Scott Ross, a high school chemistry teacher and wrestling coach, says that his sauce "goes great on anything" suggesting salad, popcorn, and almost anything but meats.
• Tournedos Rossini – Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868), Italian composer known almost as well as a gastronome. A friend of Carême, Prince Metternich, et al., Rossini had many dishes named for him: eggs, chicken, soup, salad, cannelloni, sole, risotto, pheasant, and more. Escoffier was responsible for many of these. Charles Ranhofer created "Meringued pancakes à la Rossini."
• Soufflé Rothschild – a dessert soufflé created by Marie-Antoine Carême for Baron James Mayer de Rothschild (1792–1868) and Baroness Betty de Rothschild (1805–1886) in the 1820s. The Baron was a notable French banker and diplomat. It was originally flavoured with Goldwasser but is now flavoured with a variety of other liqueurs and spirits including kirsch.
• Rumford's Soup – Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford
• Runeberg-pastry (Runebergintorttu / Runebergstårta) – named after the Finnish poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804–1877). The 5th of February is in Finland Runeberg-day and it is celebrated with this almond-pastry that is said to have been invented by Johan Ludvig's wife Fredrika. There is also a variation of this called the Fredrika-pastry.
• Baby Ruth candy bar – most likely, Babe Ruth (1895–1948) was the inspiration for the name. Although the Curtiss Candy Co. has insisted from the beginning that the candy bar was named after a daughter of Grover Cleveland, Ruth Cleveland died in 1904 at the age of 12, while the Baby Ruth was introduced in 1921 right at a time when George Herman Ruth, Jr. had become a baseball superstar. It is interesting to note that very early versions of the wrapper offer a baseball glove for 79 cents. Babe Ruth's announced intent to sue the company is probably what drove and perpetuated the dubious cover story.