Quite remarkable, a day dedicated to a piece of toast. What is the story?
Let’s start with a piece of history. It starts with the Australian-born opera singer Helen Porter Mitchell. Mitchell used to perform under the artist name Melba (derived from Melbourne) and she was constantly at war with her weight. Luckily she was supported by Auguste Escoffier, a legendary cook from the Savoy. To help Melba fight obesity, Escoffier invented a crispy thin toast. He served this toast to Melba for the first time on 23 March 1897. It is not clear if the toast played a role, but it is a fact that Melba had enjoyed a very successful career when she died in 1931. This is confirmed by the Australian 100 dollar note that carries her portrait.
The Frenchman Georges Auguste Escoffier named his creation Melba toast after the singer. Escoffier also was a great name in his trade. He wrote a book with 5000 recipes and acquired the title “king of chefs” thanks to his culinary genius.
This year, Melba toast has already existed for 121 years. Escoffier has indeed thought of a great product. What strikes us now is that Melba toast is marketed under the flag of different producers. Did Escoffier do something wrong?
If he had registered the trademark name Melba toast, his heirs would have had the exclusive right of this name until today. With the permission of Helen Porter Mitchell, a.k.a. Melba, herself, that is. A famous person can of course contest the use of his or her name for commercial purposes.
The fact is that the product was brought on the market only 6 years after his death (1935) and the oldest known trademark registration in Europe goes back to 1959, in the name of Nestlé. Nestlé herewith is the legitimate owner of the trademark in the EU and in Switzerland.
The pictures above demonstrate that multiple manufacturers market toast under the name Melba. This however does not mean that they can use the name Melba toast just like that. It is possible that these manufacturers use the name based on a licence agreement with the holder of the name. Some research would bring clarity here.
The genius of Escoffier did not extend to his commercial insight, a thing more creative persons suffer from. He however missed out on the opportunity to register the trademark name first.
By the way, Escoffier also invented the Pêche Melba. Indeed, also named after the opera singer.
