Former Royal Chef Says Queen Elizabeth "Would Have Thrown the Menu Book" If He'd Suggested One Food

Darren McGrady revealed that it was "a challenge" to expand the late Queen's culinary horizons.

Queen Elizabeth wearing a purple hat and coat scowling
(Image credit: Getty Images)
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From Queen Elizabeth's favorite French sandwich to Princess Diana's go-to healthy breakfast, fans can't resist hearing what the Royal Family loves to eat. Former palace chef Darren McGrady worked for the royals for 15 years, making him uniquely qualified to spill on Prince William's go-to fast food and King Charles's love of Italian cuisine. Speaking to Heart Bingo, McGrady shared that when it came to Queen Elizabeth, "experimenting" with meals was tough, as she liked to stick to tried-and-true staples.

"We would send new dishes up to the late Queen for her approval, and she would either accept or reject them," he said. "We also shared recipes with William and Harry’s nannies. Everyone was eager to broaden their palates and try different foods, but The Queen tended to prefer sticking with familiar favorites."

McGrady admitted that getting Queen Elizabeth to try something new "was always a challenge," adding, "If I had suggested something like kangaroo, I’m pretty sure she would have thrown the menu book at me!"

Queen Elizabeth wearing a pink dress and scarf sitting at a table with food and glasses

Queen Elizabeth is seen at a 1970 state banquet.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Royal chef Darren McGrady posing in front of a buffet table

Darren McGrady worked for the Royal Family for 15 years, leaving Kensington Palace after Princess Diana's 1997 death.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

McGrady, who now lives in Texas and runs his own catering company, Eating Royally, shared some of the other items that were off-limits."When I worked for the family, garlic and strong onions were a big no-no," he said. "The late Queen came from the Victorian era, when garlic was anti-social because of the strong smell. Prince Philip, however, would have lots of garlic on his food. He didn’t care!"

The former royal chef also addressed the longstanding rumor that Queen Elizabeth avoided seafood because of the risk of food poisoning. "The idea that The Queen didn’t eat seafood while traveling isn’t true. We regularly cooked scallops and shrimp for her," he revealed.

When it came to Prince William and Prince Harry, McGrady said that their nannies typically selected meals for the princes. "It was amusing when they insisted the boys wanted fillet steak for dinner, even though the kitchen staff suspected it was really the nanny’s preference more than theirs," he said. As for what they really wanted to eat, McGrady said William and Harry enjoyed "American classics" like "burgers, fries, sticky ribs and barbecue."

Kristin Contino
Kristin Contino
Senior Royal and Celebrity Editor

Kristin Contino is Marie Claire's Senior Royal and Celebrity editor. She's been covering royalty since 2018—including major moments such as the Platinum Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II’s death and King Charles III's coronation—and places a particular focus on the British Royal Family's style and what it means.

Prior to working at Marie Claire, she wrote about celebrity and royal fashion at Page Six Style and covered royalty from around the world as chief reporter at Royal Central. Kristin has provided expert commentary for outlets including the BBC, Sky News, US Weekly, the Today Show and many others.

Kristin is also the published author of two novels, “The Legacy of Us” and “A House Full of Windsor.” She's passionate about travel, history, horses, and learning everything she can about her favorite city in the world, London.