Former Royal Chef Shares the "Biggest Misconception" About Cooking for King Charles and Family
Visen Anenden shares what might surprise members of the public about royal meals.
The public doesn’t often see members of the Royal Family eating, and since the most visible display of a palace dinner would be the sumptuous state banquets at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace, it’s no wonder that visions of lavish ballrooms come to mind. But according to former royal chef Visen Anenden, typical royal meals are hardly extravagant.
“I think the biggest misconception is that when you work for the Royal Family, everything is grand, spectacular, and bling,” Anenden says, speaking on behalf of Heart Bingo Slots. “You think of money being thrown at everything.”
However, the former chef to King Charles at Highgrove House says that typical royal meals were much more down to earth than you’d expect. Discussing their summers at Balmoral, Anenden says the family would often take part in picnics and barbecues. “Prince Philip was renowned for his BBQs, and Charles and Camilla would go up there on Saturdays to join him,” he shares.
The Royal Family relaxes on a picnic blanket outside Balmoral Castle in 1960.
Chefs work in the kitchen at Buckingham Palace.
Everything was locally sourced, and Anenden shares that they’d eat grouse or venison from shoots on the estate. “You’d set up different picnics for them to take out on the hills, and it was all homemade,” he shares.
Keeping in The King’s sustainable mindset, Anenden says there was “no such thing” as being wasteful. “If there were things left over, they were turned into a canapé for the next day. Nothing would be thrown away. They were huge on that.”
He also shares that members of staff “were always provided for when it came to food.” When asked if the kitchen employees were given leftovers from royal meals, Anenden says, “There was no such thing as eating leftovers. He treats his staff really well, and so does Camilla.”
