Royal recipe: How to make the Queen’s favourite meal

Darren McGrady who spent over ten years cooking in Buckingham Palace according to his YouTube page shared a video tutorial of how he made fish and chips for Queen Elizabeth. Picture: Darren McGrady/YouTube

Darren McGrady who spent over ten years cooking in Buckingham Palace according to his YouTube page shared a video tutorial of how he made fish and chips for Queen Elizabeth. Picture: Darren McGrady/YouTube

Published Sep 9, 2022

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An era comes to an end with the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II spanned seven decades, and as people across the globe mourn her passing, it's a good time to examine some of the things she loved, one of which was food.

Reports claim that she remained quite particular about her food choices and had almost the same breakfast and lunch pretty much every day. According to Darren McGrady, a former chef in the Royal kitchens, the Queen stuck to the same foods most days.

McGrady cooked for the Queen at Buckingham Palace for over ten years, so he knows a thing or two about her diet, including her likes and dislikes. McGrady once revealed that, for lunch, Queen Elizabeth was fond of some grilled fish or chicken and tried to stay away from starch for her meal at lunch.

In 2020, McGrady took to his YouTube channel to share the Queen’s approved recipe for fish and chips.

In the tutorial video, he said he would make a tarragon hollandaise with egg yolks, lemon juice, tarragon, salt, pepper, and clarified butter for the sauce. McGrady finished the dish by perfectly stacking the fried potatoes into a tower and garnishing the plate with a purple flower.

In the video caption, he said that fish and chips were on the menu every Friday lunch at the palace, and they cooked for several hundred staff and that even the chefs looked forward to fish and chips Friday.

McGrady said that you can enjoy fish and chips with tartar sauce (though in classical French cuisine that would only be served with breaded fish) or ketchup.

“My favourite is 'ladling' salad cream on the chips with malt vinegar and HP sauce mixed with a little malt vinegar to make a sauce similar to the one they serve on the fish in Scotland,’ he added.

Read the latest IOL Food DigiMag here.