The story
Pavlova is named after the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, whose 1926 tour of New Zealand and Australia caused a sensation. Wellington's claim rests on a story that the head chef of a hotel in the city created a meringue dessert in her honour that year, a tale her biographer repeated but researchers have not been able to verify. What is documented is that New Zealand cookbooks carried meringue cakes from 1927, including one in a Wellington church collection, and a recipe called pavlova cake by 1929. Across the Tasman, Perth chef Bert Sachse said he invented it at the Esplanade Hotel in 1935, and the rivalry continues.
Rival claims
Perth, Australia, says chef Bert Sachse created it at the Esplanade Hotel in 1935; the Wellington hotel story (1926) is unverified, but Helen Leach found the earliest recipes in New Zealand.
Also known as pav, pavlova cake.
On the Meridish menu
Pavlova was the dessert course on menu No. 21 on October 21, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
A crisp meringue shell with a marshmallowy middle, piled with cream and fruit and named after a Russian ballerina. This windy harbour capital claims it; a city across the sea disagrees.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
