A former royal chef for Queen Elizabeth has revealed that he used to receive angry notes from the British monarch when he used food that was not in season.
Former Buckingham Palace chef, Des Sweeney, who led the cooking operations for some of the Queen’s most notable state banquets, told viewers of Channels 4’s A Royal Guide To Properties that he was under very strict rules by the Queen about her food, particularly using fruit and vegetables that were in season in Britain.
“The Queen was way ahead of Jamie Oliver and all the other chefs on the whole seasonality thing. We were never allowed to use fruit out of season, it was a big no no.
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“You know, why would you be using raspberries in January, strawberries in the season only – she was very strict on that.
“You know I would get notes about why we using this in January, why we not using this.”
The chef also revealed he uses supermarket pastries for her favourite dessert – treacle tart.
“It’s the world’s easiest pudding. This was the Queen mother’s favourite. Now you can make your favourite pastry cases and all that palaver, but is it worth it? You can buy these from your local supermarket.”
To which the narrator commented: “Let’s hope the Queen never finds out.”
Sweeney also told the story of some fresh salmon that received a police escort to Buckingham Palace after it was late arriving for a state banquet.
The documentary showed viewers an insight into the monarchy’s vast property empire and the unbelievable lengths taken to maintain them.
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Some of the properties noted were St James’s Palace, Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Kensington Palace.
In order to look after and maintain them, they require an army of cooks, cleaners and staff.
There’s even a royal upholsterer who will make sure sofas and settees are just how Her Majesty likes them.
The documentary also covered the extraordinary rescue of hundreds of precious artefacts from a burning Windsor Castle.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
