First popularized in the 1940s at a restaurant called Café de Paris in Geneva, this sauce is thought to consist of a large number of ingredients such as butter, ketchup, Dijon mustard, capers, shallots, parsley, chives, marjoram, dill, thyme, rosemary, garlic, anchovies, chicken livers, brandy, Madeira, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, curry powder, lemon, orange zest, salt, and cayenne powder, although the exact recipe is still closely guarded by the restaurant.

The sauce is traditionally served with sliced beef steaks. Even though the exact recipe will possibly never be known to the general public, the sauce is still a staple of a few selected restaurants in Switzerland, Portugal, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Sweden.