A former royal chef says there's only one food the Queen will eat with her hands. He also said there was one food he never, ever served at Buckingham Palace in any circumstances.
Darren McGrady worked for the Royal Family for over 15 years and has cooked for everyone from the Queen to Prince William, working in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and a number of other royal residences, as well as The Savoy. The chef told Insider : "Her Majesty's Victorian upbringing dictates that the only thing you would pick up and eat with your fingers is afternoon tea. Eleven years at the palace and we never served pizza at all, not even at receptions. The menus at Buckingham Palace are very traditional French, which wouldn't lean towards having pizza on it.”
Although the Queen is reported by MyLondon to prefer simple meals over indulgent dishes, she is also reported to enjoy not only afternoon tea — which although a regular on menus in restaurants and hotels around the UK now, is steeped in upper-class tradition, — but also having her menu written in French. That's according to the Queen's current chef at Windsor Castle, Mark Flanagan, who said in an article for Town and Country Magazine, said: "Her Majesty loves to have her dinner menu in French."
The head chef said if he gets "an accent wrong or mix up the masculine and feminine on the menus I send up for her approval, she’ll let me know. Her Majesty misses nothing!"
Afternoon tea has a long tradition but has become far more accessible in recent years, with many restaurants and hotels crafting special afternoon tea menus, usually served with a selection of sandwiches, scones, and small patisserie. You can see our choice of the best afternoon teas in Wales here.
McGrady previously said in another interview: "When I started as a young chef at Buckingham Palace, it was fascinating to see how important afternoon tea was to the Queen." He revealed that the Queen enjoys a "full afternoon tea of sandwiches and pastries."
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