King Charles III and Queen Camilla have chosen a quiche as their signature dish for the upcoming coronation, but the decision has received mixed reactions amidst an ongoing egg shortage in the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the King’s coronation on Saturday 6 May, the royal couple unveiled the recipe for their “coronation quiche” to be enjoyed at Big Lunch events being staged as part of the coronation. The recipe for the open-baked savoury tart includes spinach, broad beans, tarragon, cheese, and of course, eggs.
Following the announcement, many royal watchers took to social media to share their thoughts about the classic French dish. While some fans expressed their excitement at baking the quiche for themselves, others couldn’t help but notice that the coronation quiche contains eggs – which have faced soaring supermarket prices since the avian flu outbreak late last year.
“Coronation quiche when there’s an egg shortage lmaoooo,” tweeted one person. “They’re so tone deaf it’s comical.”
“Read the room, poshos,” another said. “People can’t afford their weekly shop anymore.”
“There are no f***ing eggs in the supermarkets,” tweeted someone else, replying to another user in a separate tweet: “Let them eat quiche”
In response to the coronation quiche, another Twitter user pointed out that 21.6 per cent of households with children in the UK “reported that their children had directly experienced food insecurity in the past month.”
“That’s a 10 per cent increase in a year,” she said, citing a January survey from The Food Foundation.
Another user simply shared a picture of an empty supermarket shelf filled with bare egg cartons, writing: “And what are we supposed to make this Coronation Quiche with?”
The production cost of eggs has soared as shortages across the UK have continued to impact shoppers and supermarkets. Since last year, farmers have faced a host of issues impacting egg supplies, including rising energy costs and an avian bird flu outbreak.
In August, the British Free Range Egg Producers’ Association (BFREPA) called for more support for egg producers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a chicken feed shortage. BFREPA warned that if egg producers don’t receive at least 40p per dozen more, some would leave the industry or pause production, leading to shortages of British eggs in six to nine months, according to FarmingUK.
“We warned ten months ago that producers would pause or halt production if they weren’t paid a fair price for their product, and that the knock-on effect would be fewer hens and fewer eggs,” the BFREPA said in November.
Soon after, Britain was faced with its biggest-ever outbreak of avian flu, which led farmers to keep all poultry and any captive bird inside and prompted supermarkets to ration egg supplies. According to INews, UK poultry farms have recorded over 330 bird flu outbreaks since October 2021. BFREPA also reported that a number of major retailers increased their egg prices last month, such as Asda who raised the cost of 12 large free range eggs by 33p to £2.80.
This week, King Charles III and Queen Camilla shared the recipe for their “coronation quiche” by posting a video of a palace chef making the quiche to social media. The royal family’s website described it as “a deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon.
“Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes – perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!” it read.
For the late Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, guests were invited to eat “coronation chicken” at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony. The dish featured cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs.
The coronation takes place on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey in London.
