The Queen "Was Definitely a Chocoholic," Says Former Royal Chef

(Image credit: Getty/Pool/Tim Graham Royal Photos)

published 30 March 2022

Some reports of what members of the Royal Family eat sound kind of dreary, to be honest. They have to abide by so many rules, like not eating seafood or frickin' potatoes in public.

The Queen herself isn't exactly the most adventurous eater: She doesn't like onion or garlic (just...how), and her favorite foods (cereal, toast with marmalade, fresh fish and vegetables) are decidedly—let's say—purist.

BUT! Thankfully, Queen Elizabeth II does count at least one fun food in her diet: She's all about that chocolate life, baby.

"The Queen was definitely a chocoholic, she loves dark chocolate," former royal chef Darren McGrady revealed in an interview with Coffee Friend.

"I used to make a mousse au chocolate et cafe, a dark chocolate mousse, and I added in some real espresso coffee to intensify the flavour. So that was on the menu quite a bit at Buckingham Palace.

"We also used to make a coffee mousse. At banquets when the Queen was entertaining, the most popular dessert on the menu often was an ice cream bombe. We did a bombe glacée coppelia which was coffee ice cream filled with praline and decorated with whipped cream and liquor coffee beans." Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness.

And TBH, you probably would have guessed that Her Majesty is a bit of a chocolate fiend if you'd just done a quick internet search through readily available imagery. Her face when being presented with a chocolate treat is utterly priceless. But don't just take my word for it—see below for hard proof.

Here's the monarch absolutely beaming as she accepts a chocolate Easter egg from French pastry chef François Duthu in Paris in 2004:

Queen Elizabeth II receives a chocolate Easter egg from pastry chef Francois Duthu (L) while Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe watches, as the monarch visits Rue Montorgueil in Paris

And another one from a royal fan in York:

Queen Elizabeth II Visits York For The Royal Maundy Service

I'm positively OBSESSED with the look of utter longing on the Queen's face as she watches someone make a chocolate cake:

Last but not least: Let's be real, she doesn't look too upset about visiting the Mars bar factory either...

Queen Elizabeth II Visits Mars Chocolate

If I had to reign over a whole country, I'd need a little choccy to take the edge off, too.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.

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