There’s a phrase, ‘to eat like a King’, that applies that, if you are royalty, you’re being treated to the most expensive, most rare and most sought after foods in the world.
But according to a couple of ex-royal chefs, the opposite may be true.
Darren McGrady and Carolyn Robb, who both acted as personal chefs to the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Prince William and Prince Harry, have shared the royals’ kitchen secrets (Diana was such a hopeless cook that she had to be left instructions on how to use the microwave), thrifty ways (the Queen once sent a lemon garnish back to the kitchen for them to use again) and favourite recipes (including the Queen’s favourite chocolate cake).
In case you’ve ever wanted to dine like royalty, we’ve compiled our own versions of the royal family’s favourite recipes.
Enjoy!
“The Queen loves chocolate, and the Chocolate Perfection Pie was one of her favourites. It has three layers and I think the word perfection sums up her 60-year reign,” said former cook, Darren McGrady. OUR OWN: Chocolate hazelnut pie via Food To Love.
“[The Queen] loved grilled Dover sole. Really simple, light and no sauce. Clean and simple that was how she liked it,” said Darren McGrady. OUR OWN: Barbecued whole fish with caper mayonnaise.
Prince Charles is notoriously fussy about his runny eggs, according to an ex-chef. “His eggs had to be boiled for exactly four minutes. It was never anything other than a four-minute egg. His detectives radioed his ETA ahead. I always kept three pans boiling – just to be safe.” OUR OWN: Perfect boiled eggs with spiced salt via Food To Love.
Princess Diana’s favourite dessert was a simple bread-and-butter pudding, which she insisted always had lots of raisins in it. OUR OWN: Panettone bread and butter pudding via Food To Love.
Another favourite of Diana’s was stuffed peppers and eggplants, which were picked from the estate garden. OUR OWN: Stuffed capsicums via Food To Love.
“Like all children, [Prince William and Prince Harry] had their things they liked to eat, but they’d eat roast chicken, Shepard’s pie, homemade fish fingers.” OUR OWN: Fish fingers with wedges via Food To Love.
“When they came home from school on weekends [Prince William and Prince Harry] would ask me to teach them how to cook spaghetti bolognese or other recipes they were allowed to make themselves,” said former chef, Carolyn Robb. OUR OWN: Spaghetti bolognese via Food To Love.
“McGrady knew when Prince William would be coming for tea because there would be a request for chocolate biscuit cake.” Prince William even served chocolate biscuit cake at his grooms party. OUR OWN: Coffee and chocolate biscuit cake via Food To Love.
According to a former RAF chef, Prince William is partial to lasagne. “He was a bit of a lasagne man,” the chef revealed. OUR OWN: Vegetable lasagne via Food To Love.
According to Vanity Fair, Duchess Kate reportedly makes her own jam with strawberries, cherries and raspberries from her garden. OUR OWN: Rhubarb and strawberry jam via Food To Love.
The Queen has requested the exact same chocolate cake for “over 80 years” says her chef. She’s so dedicated to this particular cake that she knows when a slice is smaller than usual! OUR OWN:Hazelnut chocolate cake via Foot To Love.
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