Chef reveals secrets on how to cook for Queen Elizabeth

Welsh chef Graham Tinsley, who cooked for Queen Elizabeth II on several occasions, said he was required to X-ray her meals before they were served at official dinners. He made the revelation in an interview with Hello! From this week.

Tinsley said security was super tight when the Queen dined with other prominent public figures. According to him, when he cooked only for the royal family, he was not always aware of safety. “It only changed if there were heads of state coming in, and so security was very, very tight,” Tinsley said.

The cook revealed that the entire kitchen staff were required to meet at a police station and hitch a motorcycle to the castle. He said that at some banquets guests even have code names for security.

“For high-caliber banquets, we are required to put all of our food, containers, knives and kitchen equipment into an x-ray machine.”

The x-ray machine isn’t the only revelation made by chefs who have served the queen. Former Royal Chef Darren McGrady told in a video posted on YouTube that he once tricked the Queen into choosing Princess Diana’s favorite dessert.

I always suggested two puddings for the menu – Diana’s favorite and one the queen didn’t like. So I knew the Queen would choose the bread-and-butter souffle,” explained McGrady. “It worked every time and the Princess made it whenever she visited the Queen,” added the head chef.

The Post reported in 2017 that the Queen prefers simple meals made with local produce and that she is supposedly a chocolate addict.

According to British Heritage, the 95-year-old monarch starts each morning with a cup of Earl Gray tea, before a bowl of Special K for breakfast.

The Queen’s lunches and dinners are usually grilled fish or chicken, but she often indulges in a classic Sunday roast complete with all the trimmings. Royals aren’t intimidated by alcohol either, and their favorite drink is a gin and Dubonnet cocktail.