No single inventor is confirmed for Beef Wellington.

Origins

The dish is widely believed to be named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, to celebrate his 1815 victory at the Battle of Waterloo over Napoleon. It likely evolved from the French filet de bœuf en croûte , a beef tenderloin wrapped in pastry, adapted into British cuisine without a specific creator documented.

Popularization

Julia Child helped make it famous in the U.S. by featuring "Filet of Beef Wellington" on her 1965 TV show The French Chef. The earliest known recipe appeared in a 20th-century cookbook, with the name "beef à la Wellington" cited from 1903, adding to its unclear early history. Chefs like Gordon Ramsay later boosted its modern fame.