Former Palace Chef Reveals The Royal Family "Let Their Hair Down" at These Balmoral Events

Every summer, the Royal Family takes an annual family vacation to Balmoral—the sovereign’s private residence in Scotland. Amongst the rolling hills, trees, and rivers, the royals are afforded privacy and freedom to truly unwind. The late Queen Elizabeth loved Balmoral so much, it was said that she would "hang up her tiara on the front gates and put on a headscarf," shifting from sovereign to “Granny and Mum,” according to former royal chef Darren McGrady.

Darren McGrady, who worked for the royal household in various chef roles for over 15 years, told Aberdeen Live that the relaxed family meals and barbecues are a sort of potluck. "You’d often get Princess Anne come down to the kitchen and say, 'I’m in charge of the first course tonight, what can I take?'"

"Prince Philip was the most passionate of cooks in the kitchen,” McGrady revealed. “They would go off and take barbecues at Balmoral. He loved to cook and cared about foods and recipes." Balmoral has many cottages, or bothys, where the family might set up a picnic or barbecue dinner. "He’d go on to ask what we could marinate them with and what vegetables were in the garden," the former royal chef reported.

Just like his son, King Charles—a passionate gardener and advocate of organic produce—Prince Philip was particular about locally-grown vegetables for their family meals. "He’d often walk the gardens and see what’s in there. He loved local produce. Then he would be in charge of cooking the main course."

"Then Prince Edward would come down and be in charge of pudding [dessert], so would want to do something like pancakes,” McGrady said. “We’d make the batter and he’d want to fill them with things like raspberries or strawberries from the garden with ice cream." Each meal was simple, and often seasonal, without pomp and ceremony. "They worked as a family on creating this meal, which they loved. They weren’t afraid to let their hair down and get stuck in."