King Charles is not a gourmand. Neither was his mother, who famously disliked the use of any seasoning and even salt. Charles is famously a finicky eater, and he has a lot of rules about food and when to eat meals (and which meals to avoid). I hate to say it, but Camilla seems like she knows a bit about food and drink, especially wine and spirits. Well, I don’t know whose idea it was, but for the Macrons’ state visit to the UK, Charles and Camilla brought in an outside chef, a French chef named Raymond Blanc, to prepare part of the state banquet. Meaning, Charles and Camilla apparently didn’t think the royal-household chefs were up to the job. This didn’t go over well with some people:
When Buckingham Palace announced the King had invited Raymond Blanc to join the royal chefs as they prepared for Tuesday’s state banquet in honour of French president Emmanuel Macron, a spokesman claimed it was an example of ‘L’Entente Cordiale in the Kitchens’. One horrified former royal cook has, however, declared, ‘Sacre bleu!’
Darren McGrady, personal chef to the late Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana and Princes William and Harry, claims that the King has grievously insulted his long-serving and loyal cooks by summoning Blanc, 75, who runs Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire.
McGrady says: ‘I get that Raymond Blanc is one of the best chefs in the world, and I get that he is a King’s Foundation ambassador, and I get that ‘the collaboration is in the spirit of Entente Cordiale’ but it’s a huge slap in the face to the palace royal chefs.’
He adds: ‘For sure, Macron will not be bringing in British chefs for a King Charles state visit to France.’
When the Palace announced Blanc’s involvement in the state banquet, a spokesman said he was invited to help ‘create the first course and dessert’. However, Blanc tells me he was asked to work on the main course, too. But he chose to leave that to Mark Flanagan, the Royal Household’s head chef. ‘I wanted to include Mark,’ says Blanc. ‘He’s a royal chef who’s cooked for the King for many years, plus he’s a great friend – it’s all part of respect. I could have done everything if I’d insisted, but Mark did a beautiful course – Rhug Estate chicken with British produce, with a beautiful tarragon sauce, a French way. It was a splendid occasion.’
Of McGrady’s gripes, Blanc says: ‘We all have an opinion – and I’ve got a different one. I like to bring people together.’
I mean… I actually “get” how this is insulting for the royal chefs – they’re thrilled when they get to prepare a state banquet, and they consider it a huge honor. McGrady is right that the French would never bring in a British chef to cook for visiting Windsors – the French would find that absurd and insulting to their chefs.
Incidentally, did you guys catch the details about the state banquet menu? Charles has an in-house mixologist who created a custom cocktail for the Macrons, a cocktail called L’entente: “It combines British gin with lemon curd and French pastis, garnished with dried French cornflowers and English roses.” A few British outlets compared the “dried flower” part to the Duchess of Sussex’s flower sprinkles. Sigh…
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.
