Former Royal Chef Says He's "Not Sure What Would Have Happened" If Queen Elizabeth's "Important" Cross-Castle Call Didn't Take Place

With a palace full of classically-trained chefs, Queen Elizabeth could’ve had her pick of lavish dishes. But former royal chef Darren McGrady recently revealed that afternoon tea was the late monarch’s favorite meal—and the kitchens had a very specific, cross-castle ritual that ensured her tea time wasn’t ruined.

“The late Queen had afternoon tea every day, wherever she was in the world,” McGrady said, speaking to U.K. coffee retailer Coffee Friend. When she was at home, the royal chefs at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle would even trade notes to avoid any royal repeats.

“There had to be two types of sandwiches on the menu, there were scones—one day they would be plain scones, the next day they would be fruit scones with raisins,” the former royal chef said. “It was really important the way they alternated. So much so, that the chefs at Buckingham Palace would ring Windsor Castle on a Monday morning and ask what flavor scones The Queen had the day before, just to be sure we didn’t serve the same.”

Whether or not the late Queen would have minded a repeat scone, we’ll never know. McGrady admitted, “I’m not sure what would have happened if we did, but we always checked.”

For the tea sandwiches, McGrady said it depended “on the different houses we traveled to” since regional flavors influenced the options. He explained, “take Balmoral for instance, we’d have so much salmon coming in, we’d have that fresh salmon and make a beautiful salmon salad or put that into the sandwiches.”

As for what else was on the menu at Queen Elizabeth’s favorite meal, the former palace chef explained he’d serve “small cakes, anything from a mini chocolate eclair to a Queen’s cake,” along with “large cakes too, which we would call a cut of cake, where the Queen could cut a slice of cake.” Flavors could be anything from banana bread to gingerbread or fruit cake, and the sweets were always served with Earl Grey tea.

McGrady noted that even though she was Queen, the late monarch was fuss-free with her tastes. “I thought every day would be smoked salmon, foie gras, caviar, but no,” he said. “The Queen was very very frugal and it’s simple and plain foods. That comes from her early years of growing up during the war.”