Margaret Weatherford Column

Sunday 7 August 2005

Royal Food

Food is one of the best-documented aspects of the lives of Elizabeth II and her family. Some former members of staff who wish to cash in on their royal service without violating their confidentiality agreements have turned to royal food as a suitably inoffensive topic. Indeed, the tradition of royal cooks writing books goes back to the first cookbook in English, The Forme of Cury, which was compiled by Richard II�s chefs in about 1390.

These books have now been joined by television programs. I recently watched Secrets of the Royal Kitchens, with former royal chef Graham Newbold. None of his secrets were particularly surprising. The royal family have very definite ideas about food, and the food prepared for them is often ridiculously labor-intensive by the standards of modern cooking. Many traditions linger on from the time when the royal household could count on an endless supply of cheap labor. For example, potatoes must be trimmed into the same size and shape (the trimmings are made into mashed potatoes).

Royal food, like royal clothing, is characterized by conservatism, high quality, and the need to impress large numbers of people. The most traditional venue for royal food is the banquet. Banquets are one of the most durable traditions of the monarchy, right up there with castles and crowns. They tap into the collective memory of feudal lords keeping open house in medieval great halls � and of Victorian millionaires serving lavish dinners to jaded princes in pseudo-medieval mansions. Banquets do tend to be more about the setting and the gold plate than the food itself, which has always been chosen to be impressive rather than delicious. It must appeal to as many people as possible and be able to stand up to being cooked and served in large quantities.

Another royal event where the food is a main attraction is the royal garden party. Because the royal family spends relatively little time meeting guests on their way to the separate royal tea tent, the guests spend their time talking to each other, looking around the Buckingham Palace garden, and eating. It was recently revealed that they eat quite a lot � an average of 14 items per person. Presumably these are dainty little tea sandwiches and cookies, not big slices of cake. (One tip I picked up from Graham Newbold: Slice a loaf of bread and a peeled seedless cucumber lengthwise, then lay the cucumber strips between the buttered bread slices and cut into small squares. This is faster than slicing the cucumber and bread crossways and assembling each sandwich separately.)

As much of the royal family�s food as possible comes from the estates at Windsor, Sandringham, and Balmoral. The dairy farm at Windsor provides them with rich butter, the unpasteurized milk that is served from small bottles with the Queen�s cipher, and very thick cream. The cream is said to be wonderful with strawberries or as the main ingredient in homemade ice cream. Prince Charles gets his meat from his Duchy Home Farm, where he raises heirloom breeds of cattle and pigs. He is also tremendously proud of his home-grown organic vegetables and fruits, although the Queen�s estates have been producing fruit and vegetables for many years with less self-congratulation. The Sandringham peaches are particularly prized � King Edward VIII appalled his court by ordering that all of the peach blossoms be cut and sent to Mrs. Simpson. Sandringham also produces so many black currants that supposedly the juice drink Ribena is mostly made from them. At Balmoral the menus constantly feature the salmon, game birds, and venison that are the product of the fishing, shooting, and stalking on the estate.

The Queen and Prince Phillip have generally retained the same eating habits for over fifty years. One change over the years is that they now eat light breakfasts of toast or cereal rather than the cooked breakfasts they ate in the past. Of course, several cooked options are still available for their overnight guests. Lunch is a light meal when eaten privately, but will be three courses with wine when there are guests. Tea at five o�clock is a constant in the Queen�s life. It might be a private cuppa at Buckingham Palace, or a hearty family meal at Balmoral, but it is a daily ritual. Dinner is perhaps the most variable meal of the royal day. It could be a simple meal off a tray in front of the television, or it could be a four-course dinner with family and guests in formal dress, or it could be a state banquet for over a hundred people. Very rarely for the Queen, but more often for her husband and children, it might be a private dinner in a nice restaurant.

Prince Phillip and the other members of the family have much less structured lives than the Queen. They are well aware of the modern world of food, and no doubt realize that potatoes are not all the same size. They probably eat more �normal� food than we realize, even if they send their staff to pick it up. Just the other day Princess Beatrice gave an interview in which she mentioned that she enjoys grocery shopping, something that Prince William also claims to enjoy. Of course, it is a novelty for them. The new Duchess of Cornwall was probably quite glad to give it up, particularly after fellow shoppers threw rolls at her when her affair with the Prince of Wales was revealed.

Food played an important role in the sad story of the marriage of the Prince and Princess of Wales. Diana, of course, struggled with bulimia. Her uncontrolled binge-and-purge behavior was the absolute opposite of the traditional royal way of eating � four meals per day (counting tea) at set times, small portions, eat what you are served, and no snacking between meals. Diana presented an image of a casual, unpretentious young mother by taking her sons to McDonalds, something that the Prince of Wales would never, ever do. Charles incorporates his own strong preferences into traditional royal meals. The organic vegetables he grows at Highgrove follow him all around Britain and even abroad, even to the royal estates that grow their own vegetables. His chefs must pack his favorite six types each of organic honey and dried fruit for his breakfast, no matter where he is going. One can only hope that Charles and Diana�s sons have gotten more normal eating habits from their nannies and boarding schools � and the Queen.

- Margaret Weatherford

The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

Royal Food