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To commemorate the late queen’s coronation in 1953, an entirely new dish was invented and served for the celebratory lunch.
Created by Cordon Bleu-trained chef Rosemary Hume and food writer Constance Spry, Coronation Chicken, a cold chicken dish with curry and mayonnaise, has stood the test of time, primarily as a sandwich filling.
Now, with plans well underway for King Charles’ coronation in May, there has been speculation as to what, if any, dish will be conjured up to celebrate the occasion.
Details of the coronation have been released in recent days, including ‘Big Lunch’ block parties and picnics to be held on May 7 to raise money for charity.
Coronation Chicken, or Poulet Reine Elizabeth, was the newest dish invented and served for the Queen’s coronation lunch in 1953.
Contests have also been launched for members of the public to come up with a recipe, though none are officially sponsored by the royals.
Last year, the Palace encouraged chefs to come up with a recipe to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year.
Hobbyist baker Jemma Elvin, 31, won the contest with her lemon Swiss roll and amaretti trifle, with the dessert taking her place alongside Poulet Reine Elizabeth and Victoria Sponge, named after Queen Victoria, in the history of real food.
And the new King has certainly inherited a “foodie” status from his mother and ancestors.
With plans well underway for the coronation of King Charles III in May, there has been speculation as to what, if any, dish will be conjured up to celebrate the occasion.
A strong supporter of organic food and farming, King Charles founded Duchy Organics in 1990, which later partnered with Waitrose to sell high-quality British farm produce.
But with a range of different foods promoted by the King, and a variety of recipes in his and the royal family’s repertoire, it’s hard to know what might be the central dish of the bridge celebrations.
Here, FEMAIL analyzes Carlos III’s favorite foods to see if they give any clues…
Hobbyist baker Jemma Elvin, 31, won the competition to create a dessert to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee last year, producing this Lemon Amaretti Trifle Swiss Roll (left) Victoria Sponge, which is named from Queen Victoria, is another creation that has taken its place in royal food history (right)
A MEAL WITH EGGS
King Charles has long been rumored to be a big fan of the humble boiled egg.
Last year, journalist and royal expert Russell Myers revealed to Lorraine that the royal’s favorite food was a “plain” boiled egg.
There was even a reference in The Crown, when Camilla Parker Bowles (played by Emerald Fannell) told a young Princess Diana, “They made the cardinal mistake of refusing to put a soft-boiled egg on top.”
But there’s been debate about when in the day you eat your breakfast staple.
Broadcaster Jeremy Paxman claimed in his 2012 book On Royalty that the then-Prince of Wales requires that seven eggs be boiled for him a day, and he only eats one to ensure it is cooked to perfection.
He wrote: ‘Because [Charles’] the staff were never sure if the egg would have exactly satisfactory hardness, a series of eggs were cooked and placed in an ascending row of numbers.’
This was later denied on the Prince’s website, with a Reading the FAQ section: ‘The Prince of Wales has seven boiled eggs cooked for his breakfast but only eats one, as claimed in Jeremy Paxman’s book On Royalty?
The reply was: ‘No, he doesn’t and never has, at breakfast or at any other time.
Meanwhile, Graham Tinsley MBE, former manager of the Welsh culinary team, who has catered royal state banquets on several occasions, revealed to Hello! in September how Charles “really” likes his eggs.
He said the King is actually a fan of a spoiled egg, which is only boiled for about two or three minutes before being peeled and served.
The King also requires a salad for each meal, Tinsley said, which has to be “very precise” and served on top of the boiled egg, before mashing it all up.
This unusual dish is unlikely to be a popular choice for a coronation celebration, although Charles’ love of eggs could certainly be incorporated in another way…
As a huge fan of eggs, the King has even shared his own recipe to showcase the ingredient, as well as other homegrown products.
During the coronavirus pandemic in May 2020, the then-Prince shared a step-by-step guide to creating cheesy baked eggs.
A video shows a Clarence House staff member preparing the decadent brunch recipe, which was shared on Instagram to mark the British Cheese Weekender.
Charles has been a Patron of the Association of Specialty Cheesemakers since 1993, so it’s also quite possible that his favorite celebratory food is cheesy.
A SUSTAINABLE SALAD OR A DISH BASED ON FRUITS
Former royal chef Darren previously said that when he cooked for him, the King would start his day with just fruit.
And despite being a “foodie”, he also added that Charles would often skip lunch and instead opt for a boiled egg for afternoon tea.
The healthy 74-year-old is also reportedly a fan of flaxseed, a nutritional superfood, which he jokingly calls ‘birdseed’ according to the daily star.
It has also been said that he eats a brunch, consisting of Darjeeling tea with milk and honey, and homemade bread with linseed. fresh fruit and juice.
In addition to offering a balanced, high-fiber meal, these dietary choices are believed to reflect the royals’ environmental concerns, as they are relatively low-impact foods in terms of carbon and habitat damage.
This means there could be a sustainable option for the picnic table during the Coronation celebrations.
A TRADITIONAL CAKE
The Palace wanted to underline that the celebrations will be rooted in tradition, so what better dish to serve than one steeped in royal history.
One such dish has all but disappeared from the UK, its key ingredient largely extinct here, despite previously being a requirement at all royal celebrations since medieval times.
Lamprey pies, extravagant multi-tiered cakes filled with blood-sucking eel-like creatures, have been made for royalty by the city of Gloucester since the 12th century.
The tradition of serving it at royal celebrations was scrapped in 1917 amid World War I, but it returned for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
But, with the jawless fish on the verge of extinction in the nearby River Severn, the last British lampreys were provided in the cake prepared for Queen Elizabeth II’s 25th birthday in 1977.
American and Canadian lampreys have since been brought in, and the Platinum Jubilee cake sent to the late Queen was scaled down to include pork and apple.
Now, the tradition will continue, with Gloucester City Council documents showing it intends to present the new monarch with a lamprey pie on his coronation day.
Due to environmental concerns, the cake is again expected to be lamprey-free, but Gloucestershire Live reports that it will have the eels depicted in the elaborate pastry box design.
While eel pie is unlikely to be high on many people’s banquet wish lists, there’s no denying that intricate cakes certainly look fit for a king.