So you think that fancy Michelin restaurant
you visited last year is the pinnacle of opulent
dining?
Think again, common folk.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the British royal
family enjoys an utterly unique gastronomic
lifestyle.
It's not just the bizarre magnificence of
their meals that proves fascinating, but also
the day-to-day quirks each of them insists
upon.
And then, there's stuff like the fact that
they're not allowed to drink tap water.
Seriously.
It's a strange life.
No shellfish allowed
If you've ever hit up the oyster bar, then
you've indulged in something the royals aren't
allowed to touch.
They're banned from crab, lobster, shrimp
and the like, for the simple reason that it's
just too much of a risk.
Shellfish are a notorious source of food poisoning
and the royals' rigorous schedule means that
risking being out of commission for any period
of time is a serious no-go.
Of course, rules are meant to be broken.
Not by the Queen, of course, but Prince Charles
is known to indulge a little from time to
time.
Tap water pass
It's common when traveling abroad to be warned
against drinking the local tap water.
Parasites and bacteria found in untreated
water can lead to a host of illnesses and
diseases, including travelers' diarrhea.
In the past, the Queen has visited Oman, the
UAE, Thailand, Nepal, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait
and a host of other countries with less than
perfect water conditions — and that's just
the Queen.
With that in mind, it's probably no surprise
that tap water is on the list of things they're
not allowed to consume abroad.
Anti-garlic
Yep, garlic is, in fact, banned from Buckingham
Palace — and all just because the Queen
utterly forbids it.
According to John Higgins, a former chef at
the palace, nothing could ever be served with
the stuff.
The theory goes that this is to avoid garlic's
most potent side effect: Bad breath.
And this doesn't just go for the Queen, either
— her palace-wide ban means the whole family
goes sans-garlic, solely to avoid any awkward
garlic-based interactions with guests, visitors
or foreign dignitaries.
Keeping it healthy
If you follow the royal family closely, you've
noticed that the Queen is seemingly immortal.
At the age of 91, she's still active, enthusiastic,
and maintains a significant presence in the
public eye.
Among other things, it's probably fair to
assume her longevity comes down to her insistence
on healthy eating.
According to former palace chef Darren McGrady,
the Royals are generally a healthy group of
people.
Both the Queen herself and Prince Philip are
into eating well, while he says Prince Charles
went, quote "organic before organic was even
invented."
The latter, as well as his late wife Diana,
kept to a rigorously healthy diet and mostly
ate foods from fresh ingredients — from
bread and pasta, to ice cream and even mayo.
No starch lunching
One of the quirks revealed by McGrady is that
the Queen enforces a strict 'no starch' rule
when it comes to her own lunches.
Not only that, but she's also got a preference
for eating sandwiches - usually cucumber,
salmon or egg and mayo - without the crusts
on when she entertains lunchtime guests.
Mousse and mangoes
So what, then, does the Queen like most?
Chocolate — with chocolate mousse being
a particular favorite for the monarch and
her family.
According to Higgins, you can expect plates
to come back clean if mousse is on the menu.
The Queen herself is also incredibly fond
of mangoes, to the point where she always
knows exactly how many are being kept in the
fridges at Buckingham Palace.
It's fitting, then, that "coronation chicken
salad with mangoes and almonds" was invented
for the occasion of her ascension to the throne
in 1953, and was served at her celebratory
luncheon.
Royal farming
Spoiler: the royals aren't down to hit the
local Tesco for their weekly shop.
Instead, the vast majority of the ingredients
used in their meals comes from their own estates.
Carolyn Robb, who was personal chef to Charles
and Diana, explains that the royal couple
enjoyed game that was hunted by Charles personally,
while they'd also grow their own fruit and
vegetables for use in daily meals.
Lamb would come from the lambs they themselves
kept, milk came from their cows and even mushrooms
were picked wild from their own land.
The Queen herself frequently eats beef, venison,
pheasant, and salmon that has been reared,
caught or hunted on her own lands at Sandringham
or Balmoral.
No foodie Queen
Perhaps most surprising of all, is that the
Queen really doesn't care that much about
food.
According to McGrady, she's the type who eats
to live rather than lives to eat, and often,
when alone, prefers a meal of grilled or poached
fish with some vegetables or salad.
McGrady recounted a story in which he'd asked
whether the kitchen equipment, much of which
still remains from the 1800s, ought to be
replaced, and was told that the money was
better spent on new horses and saddles.
As far as the Queen herself is concerned,
big eating is strictly kept to official occasions
— of course, if you were living her high-profile
life, you'd probably want a low-key snack
now and again, too.
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