Photo: Alessia Pierdomenico/ Shutterstock/YouTube
It's a surprising one.
By Victoria Soliz — Written on Sep 19, 2022
Queen Elizabeth's former chef has revealed what it was like working for the monarch and some of the specific rules he followed while cooking for the Queen.
Darren McGrady has cooked for the Queen along with several members of her family, including Prince Harry, King Charles III and Princess Diana — he worked in the Royal kitchens from 1988 to 1993.
The chef says the Queen wasn't particularly experimental with her eating so would require an explanation of any new recipes that were going to be on the menu.
Staff members were told to submit the full recipe for her meals in a red binder which would then be taken to the Queen for her approval.
However, when McGrady tried to inspire the sovereign to try something new, she wasn't too impressed.
Queen Elizabeth's former chef revealed she once had some interesting feedback about his cooking.
In a YouTube video originally posted before the Queen's September 8 passing, McGrady explained that he once tried to introduce a new recipe while cooking for the Queen.
At the time, Queen Elizabeth was staying at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish home which McGrady says is home to a garden of strawberries that he wanted to include in a dessert called Veiled Farmer's Daughter.
However, protocol dictates that the Queen must see a full recipe of the new dish so when McGrady forgot to explain what was involved the Queen sent back a note.
"What or who are the Veiled Farmer's Daughters," McGrady says the Queen wrote back in a handwritten note.
The dessert is a Norwegian dish containing strawberries, oranges, cinnamon, and a crumble served in a sundae glass.
McGrady explains that the recipe worked wonderfully with any of the fresh fruits growing at Balmoral that were in season.
While speaking to LadBible, McGrady adds that the Queen had a sweet tooth.
"The Queen loved chocolate, anything chocolate, the darker the chocolate the better," McGrady said.
"So whenever I put down the menu that was always a hit. But she also loved indigenous produce fruit from her estates."
He also claims that the Queen's son, King Charles, was "more of a foodie than the Queen was" and would try out more of a range of dishes than his mother did.
"Yeah, so lots of organic food for the Prince of Wales. And he loves Italian food," the chef said.
McGrady left the Royal family after Princess Diana's passing, who he was catering for at the time, he now documents some of the Queen's favorite recipes, and his other specialties, on his YouTube channel.
Victoria Soliz is a writer with YourTango who covers news and entertainment content. Her work explores pop culture trends, film and TV, and celebrity news.