Her name is associated with two foods, a dessert (the Pêche Melba), and Melba toast, both created by the French chef Auguste Escoffier.

Peach Melba
The Peach Melba is a classic French dessert, invented in London to honour an Australian. It combines two favourite summer fruits: peaches and raspberry sauce accompanying vanilla ice cream.

The Peach Melba was originally created in 1892 or 1893 by Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London. He had heard Nellie Melba, a famous opera singer from Australia, perform at Covent Garden one night and was inspired to create a dessert just for her. Rumour had it she loved ice cream, but did not dare eat it often, believing it would affect her vocal cords. Escoffier created a sauce of raspberries, redcurrant jelly, sugar and cornstarch. In Peach Melba, the ice cream, being only one element in a whole, would not be as cold and thus not harm her vocal cords. He served it at a dinner she was hosting, presented in an ice sculpture of a swan inspired by the performance of Lohengrin he had seen, and a classic was born.

The dish was elected for Sky One's "The World's Greatest Dishes" but did not win. The dish was described as "overdecorated" by the food critics.

Melba toast

Melba toast is a very dry, crisp, thinly sliced toast often served with soups and salads, or topped with melted cheese. It is named after Dame Nellie Melba, the stage name of Australian opera singer Helen Porter Mitchell. The term is thought to date back to 1897, a year when the singer was very ill and this kind of toast became a staple of her diet.

Melba toast is made by lightly toasting bread in the normal way. Once the

outsides of the bread are slightly firm, it is removed from the toaster and then each slice is cut in half "longitudinally" with a bread knife to make two slices each half the thickness. These two thin slices are then toasted again to make Melba Toast.