What is Diane Sauce? The Story Behind the Creamy Steakhouse Classic
Diane sauce is the sauce that made steak dinners famous. Rich, creamy and quietly indulgent, it is the finishing touch that turns a well cooked cut into a steak diane worth remembering. But where did it come from, and what actually goes into a proper Diane sauce? Pull up a chair.
The history of Diane sauce
Like all great culinary stories, Diane sauce keeps a little mystery. Some say it was born in France in the early 1900s and named for Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, a nod to its early affinity with game. Others place its rise in the dining rooms of London and New York in the 1930s, when tableside flambé was the height of theatre and Diane sauce was the star of the show. By the 1940s it had settled into Australia, where it has held its place on steakhouse menus ever since.
Whichever story you prefer, the sauce has stood the test of time, and for good reason.
What is in a Diane sauce?
A traditional Diane sauce is a creamy pan sauce built on mushrooms, mustard and Worcestershire, finished with cream and butter. In full, the classic calls for:
- Onion and garlic, the aromatic base
- Mushrooms, for that rich, earthy depth
- Beef stock, the savoury backbone
- Mustard and Worcestershire sauce, the quiet tang behind the richness
- Brandy or white wine, to deglaze the pan and lift the flavour
- Cream and butter, for the velvet finish
Get those in balance and you have one of the great sauces of the steakhouse era.
How is Diane sauce used?
Steak diane is the gold standard, and rightly so. A creamy Diane sauce is every bit as good over roast chicken, crumbed pork or sautéed mushrooms. Our crumbed pork cutlets with Diane sauce are proof. And if steak night is the occasion, start with our guide to cooking the perfect steak, then let the sauce do the rest.
Half the pleasure, of course, is chasing the last of it around the plate with crisp fries or buttery mash.
Our Diane Sauce with Buttery Leek
Making Diane sauce from scratch is a labour of love. The reducing, the balancing, the patience. So we have done the hard work for you. Our Diane Sauce with Buttery Leek is chef-made in small batches in the Hunter from all natural, gluten free Australian ingredients, with sweet slow cooked leek folded through in place of plain onion, and white wine where the classic reaches for brandy.
Heat, pour, and your table gets the credit. You will find it alongside the rest of our chef-made steak sauces.
Try our Diane Sauce with Buttery Leek today and taste the difference chef-made quality makes.