Darren McGrady, a former royal chef who worked for the Queen for 15 years, says that he was always instructed to serve a traditional Christmas meal of turkey and all the trimmings. 'The turkey is served with mashed and roast potatoes, chestnut or sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
The Royals might be known to avoid shellfish while travelling, but Christmas is another thing entirely. They start the meal with a lobster and prawn salad, and for main followed by a traditional Turkey roast with all the trimmings.
Turkey and all the trimmings
The main event was usually a sumptuous turkey dinner with plenty of fine trimmings. Reportedly a trio of turkeys would be cooked for the royal adults, one for the children's room and some 100 birds prepared for the staff at the estate – a tradition King Charles III is expected to keep.
“The Queen is a total chocaholic. Chocolate biscuit cake [made with McVitie's Rich Tea biscuits] is her favourite,” McGrady told Food and Wine during her reign, adding that sometimes a whole cake would be eaten in a day.
Queen Elizabeth adhered to a daily teatime meal; her preference for delicate sandwiches with the crusts cut off was well-publicized. Her favorite version was reported to be smoked salmon with cream cheese. If the old adage is true, one should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dine like a pauper.
The queen has a number of people on staff who cook for her and there aren't any reports that she has ever had to make her meals herself. But she does prepare her own breakfast. For the most important meal of the day, the monarch eats cereal and fetches it herself.
In England, cookies or crackers are called biscuits. A piece in Hello! revealed that her all-time favorite biscuits were Chocolate Bath Olivers which are crunchy cookies enrobed in chocolate. These treats are kind of a pre-breakfast.
chocolate biscuit cake from the British royal kitchen
Chocolate biscuit cake is Queen Elizabeth's favorite cake ~ she would take a small slice every day with her tea, until the cake was finished, and then she'd start on a fresh one!
For breakfast she keeps things simple. Royal biographer, Katie Nicholl, has previously said: "HRH typically starts with a simple cup of tea and biscuits, followed by a bowl of cereal." (The Guardian previously reported she likes to keep it in Tupperware to preserve its freshness.)
Thank you for subscribing! The Queen has a favourite dessert - and her former royal chef has explained exactly how to make it. Her Majesty's go-to dessert is a rich, mint and chocolatey delight known as a Bombe Glacée Royale. Her Majesty is such a huge fan that a fruity version was even served at her wedding in 1947.
There's plenty of booze around at Christmas
After church on Christmas Day, "the Queen has a gin and Dubonnet, while Prince Philip has beer. Everyone else will sip a glass of Veuve Clicquot," Darren McGrady told The Daily Mail. At Christmas dinner, "the Queen enjoys drinking Gewürztraminer, an aromatic white wine."
As an avid cook, the Duchess is said to prepare her royal husband roast chicken which is said to be his favourite dinner. In 2012, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair of the Duchess: "In the evenings she indulges her hobby of cooking William's favourite supper, roast chicken."
It's just a jam sandwich — bread, a bit of butter, and jam, cut into small circles (or similar shapes) for serving. These simple treats were a lifetime favorite of the queen's, with Chef McGrady stating that she enjoyed one every single day since she was five years old.
Lunch began with a nip from a gin and Dubonnet cocktail followed by a light protein. The Queen avoided heavy foods during her midday meal and often enjoyed a Dover Sole filet on spinach or grilled chicken with a salad.
The Royal Family has taken part in this tradition for decades - reportedly since the early 1900s. Supposedly, the point of the tradition is to see how much everyone enjoyed their food, and make sure that all the guests were given enough to eat.
Queen Elizabeth II has eaten jam sandwiches every day since she was a toddler, according to her former private chef. Darren McGrady claims on his YouTube channel that the monarch favours a strawberry preserve made from fruits picked in her Balmoral Castle grounds in Scotland.
Yes, she sure does! Devoted mum-of-three Kate has spoken of her love of cooking several times – indeed, it's quite a hobby for her. In 2012, royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Vanity Fair of the Duchess: "In the evenings she indulges her hobby of cooking William's favourite supper, roast chicken."
The Queen's favourite foods
According to former royal chef Darren McGrady, Her Majesty favours truffles by Bond Street chocolatiers Charbonnel et Walker, long known for its connection to the royal family.
1. “ Praise, my soul, the King of heaven” (1834)
Later set to music by John Goss in 1868, the hymn was played during the 1947 royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth (Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburg, along with her other favorite hymnal”The Lord's My Shepherd.”
According to McGrady, the royal chef bakes various cakes for snacking on in Buckingham Palace but there is one cake the Queen particularly likes, and enjoys a slice every single day. “The chocolate biscuit cake is the only cake that goes back again and again and again everyday until it's all gone,” McGrady said.
But the monarch is said to be fond of a classic British dark mint chocolate, usually eaten after dinner, that anyone can buy from your local supermarket.
Thankfully, Queen Elizabeth II does count at least one fun food in her diet: She's all about that chocolate life, baby. "The Queen was definitely a chocoholic, she loves dark chocolate," former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed in an interview with Coffee Friend.
Tuna mayonnaise sandwiches
A former royal chef recently claimed the Queen's favourite sandwich was tuna mayonnaise. He said that the sandwich always had to be generously buttered and topped with thin slices of cucumber, plus a sprinkle of black pepper on top.