In Roman mythology, Diana is the goddess of hunting, the moon and birthing. She ensures safe childbirth and protects women.
In paintings, she is often hunting with a deer; in the myth of Actaeon, the Theban hero was turned into a stag by Diana after he stumbled upon her while she was bathing and saw her naked. Actaeon is then devoured by his own hounds.
It is because of this that some believe steak Diane originally featured venison, rather than beef.
There are probably as many recipes for steak Diane as there are Dianes. To some, it consists of butter and truffles, and to others, pepper is the key element. The latter school of thought argues that it is a mustard-laden variation of steak au poivre (poivre is pepper in French). In , the description "à la Diane" pertains to game dishes and sauce Diane is "a highly peppered sauce with cream and truffles".
Many recipes require the dish to be flambéed tableside. This method is said to have come about in New York in the 1950s, when tableside cooking was in vogue. In an article in in 1953, three outlets in New York were famous for the dish - The Drake Hotel, the Sherry-Netherland Hotel and the Colony Restaurant - but only the chef at The Drake, Beniamino Schiavon, insisted that he brought the dish to the United States.
Some meat industry associations in the US, such as the Chicago Meat Authority, attribute the creation of the dish to Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro, although no one seems to know how this story came about, nor does it seem any evidence has been offered.
