Queen Elizabeth II may be known for her love of impeccable taste, but the late monarch had some of the world’s best chefs prepare her dishes for everything from simple to structured diets for everyday life.
Her Majesty’s former head chef, Darren McGrady, revealed some of the foods Her Majesty enjoyed most. He also revealed some food items that were never allowed to be included in his diet.
Darren revealed that the Queen was not a foodie and preferred traditional British and French cuisine. The Queen was like many of us, especially when it came to her favorite dessert, chocolate.
Unlike her husband, Prince Philip, she was not a fan of adopting new dishes and often stuck to the same meals every week. There were also some foods that she would never eat, even though they are considered dishes or main ingredients for any meal.
Darren explained that when he was her personal chef between 1982 and 1993, the Queen ate breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner.
Apparently a fan of seafood, Darren told viewers in a YouTube clip that the Queen was particularly fond of Morecambe Bay potted prawns on toast. He said: “They were cooked and marinated in secret spiced butter and then the Queen would eat them with hot toast.”
The Queen used to start her day with a cup of hot Earl Gray tea with milk, no sugar and some biscuits. In England, cookies or crackers are called biscuits. Turns out her favorite biscuits were Chocolate Bath Olivers which are crunchy cookies covered in chocolate.
Lunch was simple and followed a high protein, low carb pattern. McGrady told The Telegraph that grilled Dover sole or Scottish salmon served with spinach and zucchini was one of his favourites. She was also known to enjoy a simple salad with grilled chicken. “She was very disciplined when it came to eating on her own.
According to the Daily Mail, McGrady said the Queen had a “no starch” rule for dinner especially when she dined alone. The menu consisted mostly of grilled or poached fish along with salads and vegetables.
As healthy as she was, sweets were sometimes on the menu. While she was often served fresh fruit from the gardens, think strawberries from Balmoral Castle or fresh peaches from the Windsor Castle greenhouse, Grady told CNN that the Queen was a bit of a chocolatier.
But, she added, “The chocolate should be dark, because the darker the better. She wasn’t keen on milk chocolate or white chocolate.” She also occasionally ate homemade chocolate.
The author of Eating Royally concluded: “The cooking at Buckingham Palace was amazing. It was everything I expected. They have the most amazing produce, the best quality food, the best ingredients to work with.”
Darren trained in his hometown of Nottingham and worked at The Savoy in London, but he decided to apply for a job at the palace after camping in the mall on the eve of Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding. It was then that he thought how “amazing” it would be to work in the royal kitchen, and a few weeks later he went for an interview and got the job.