The 61-year-old chef revealed that the royals stick to tradition when the festive season arrives.
A former Royal Family chef has revealed what the King and his family will eat this Christmas and it’s not as lavish as everyone expects it to be. Darren McGrady, a Nottinghamshire chef who has worked for the late Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Diana, has cooked around seven Christmas dinners for the royal family during his career.
The 61-year-old chef revealed that the royals stick to tradition when the festive season arrives. According to the professional chef, the menu remained nearly the same throughout his tenure cooking for the family and it’s pretty much the same as the meal enjoyed at home by many Brits.
”They’ve always been very traditional, so the royals eat the same things every year. They’re no different to most families in not wanting to mess around with the food at Christmas,” he told OK magazine.
However, Mr McGrady spoke of one strange tradition during his time which was that of the men and women eating separate breakfasts. While the men were served a full English breakfast, including eggs, bacon, mushrooms, kippers, and grilled kidneys, the royal ladies, are said to enjoy “a light breakfast of “sliced fruit, half a grapefruit, toast, and coffee delivered to their rooms.” The family then traditionally visits the church before returning for lunch.
”It was the same meal every year. They’re boring when it comes to festivities. They didn’t do hams or anything, just traditional turkeys. We did three turkeys for the Queen and her family in the royal dining room, one for the children’s nursery, and then more for the 100 or so staff, so everyone had a Christmas lunch,” he added.
The turkey is served with mashed and roast potatoes, chestnut or sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce, and bread sauce. Vegetables include Brussels sprouts, carrots, and roast parsnips. Drinks in past years have included a classic gin and dubonnet cocktail, and a glass of Gewurztraminer – German white wine.
They would then have a traditional Christmas pudding ”decorated in holly, doused in brandy, and the palace steward would carry it, flaming, into the Royal dining room.”
Post lunch, the royals would go for a walk around Sandringham Estate, then come back to watch the Queen’s speech. However, this year, King Charles will be delivering his first Christmas speech since acceding to the throne.
”For the Christmas Eve dinner, we’d serve a fish course, salad, and then often venison from the Sandringham estate. Dessert was typically a tarte tatin or chocolate perfection pie, which Queen Elizabeth loved. Chocolate was one of her biggest weaknesses,” the chef revealed.
