The royal family has an annual holiday tradition where they head to their Sandringham Estate in Norfolk to celebrate Christmas cheer and hibernate during the cold winter months.
Former royal chef Darren McGrady is now spilling all the secrets about serving up a feast fit for literal Kings and Queens during the merry time.
McGrady, 62, recently spoke to Smooth Spins Casino about The Firm’s menu and how he used to keep the kitchen running smoothly for the holidays.
The cook served for the late Queen Elizabeth IIfor 15 years beginning in 1982 and later whipped up dishes for Princess Diana until her death in 1997.
“Christmas Day was very traditional for the royals. The men would come downstairs and have breakfast, then the ladies would actually have breakfast trays in their room,” McGrady said.
The Royal Family’s Favorite Holiday Main Dish Is Roast Turkey
He divulged that the men would have the traditional full English breakfast that consisted of sausage, egg, bacon and mushrooms. The late Prince Philip also loved to have a side of kidney with his meal, while the females of the household preferred lighter meals, including cut-up fruit.
The royals then headed off to church for Christmas mass, and when they arrived back home for lunch, canapés would be served.
Roast turkey was the main course, which came with sides such as gravy, Brussels sprouts, roast parsnips, roast potatoes, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce.
No Onions or Garlic Allowed!
“After that, it would be time for the Christmas pudding. The traditional Christmas pudding would be served on fire and flamed, like most families do at Christmas, then carried into the royal dining room by the Queen’s page, usually to a round of applause,” McGrady explained.
The chef said he would keep the puddings, which were made the year before, refrigerated so they “would mature and soak all the flavor.”
As for whether any foods were off-limits, McGrady said there weren’t any restrictions. However, he “stuck with the same old rules.” He noted that garlic and onions were still a big no-no because the Queen found them to be “antisocial” foods.
McGrady also revealed that he never had any fiery kitchen disasters in his tenure while working for the royals, as everything had to be picture-perfect.
“Nothing was allowed to go wrong and everything had to be prepared ahead,” he said. “We did the same menu year [after] year, and the same recipes. We knew how much we needed to feed them.” The Eating Royally authorstated that the food and ingredients came in ahead of time — “even down to the fruit bowls on the tables.”
“We would pick the perfect pears that were just ripe and perfect, just beautiful. Nothing at all went wrong; everything was perfectly planned and laid out. It was business as usual,” he said.
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