The Fascinating Origin Story Behind England's Eton Mess Dessert

There are a lot of good-tasting British foods with names that don't seem, on first appearance, to have anything to do with the dish itself. Toad in the hole, bubble and squeak, spotted dick, Welsh rarebit — there's no shortage of them. But while each has a name that seems like a random string of words thrown together, there's a story behind each of those names, and the dessert Eton mess is no exception.

Putting "mess" in your food's name may seem like less-than-ideal branding. Despite its name, though, Eton mess is basically just strawberries and cream with crumbled meringue; something that's both delicious and not particularly unusual for dessert lovers from any country (who doesn't love strawberries and cream?). But what elevates Eton mess in terms of perception isn't esoteric cooking techniques or high-minded ingredients, but rather its association with one of Britain's most elite educational institutions — and through that, its connection to the halls of power, both political and royal.

Founded in 1440 as a public school, Eton has, over time, become something of a spawning ground for the wealthiest and most influential figures in the United Kingdom. It's equivalent to American grades 8-12, with boys (a male-only school) starting at age 13 and going until they're ready for university. And it's here that the dish supposedly originated.

The story goes that during a cricket match (that's the one with the flat bats that isn't baseball or tennis), a rambunctious dog knocked over a pavlova, creating a mess of ingredients that were still good but were no longer visually pristine. The resulting dish was supposedly served anyway, giving rise to what became known as an Eton mess. As a result, it's still served at Eton vs. Harrow cricket matches today. Much like other too-cute-to-be-true food origin stories like the one about potato chips, though, this story is probably made up.

In actuality, the first recorded instance of Eton mess comes from a royal gathering in 1893, when historian Arthur Beavan reported it was served to Queen Victoria at an event celebrating the upcoming wedding of her grandson Prince George. Beavan referred to it as "Eton Mess aux Fraises." This report makes no mention of its origin, but the name stuck, and ever since, the dish has been associated with Eton itself. As a result of the school's connection to the halls of the powerful, the British media has sometimes used the term "Eton mess" to describe disarray within the country's conservative party, which consists of a number of alumni.

Today, there are all sorts of variants of Eton mess at other elite English educational institutions. Lancing serves "Lancing mess," which swaps out the strawberries for bananas. Cambridge, meanwhile, has "Clare College mush," which substitutes yogurt for some of the cream and is made with raspberries.

And why wouldn't so many variants of these pop up everywhere? It's not only a simple dish but a universally appealing one. Wherever the name came from, it's a dish we can all get behind.