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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