Queen Elizabeth’s Former Chef Reveals Why He Never Used a Microwave and Royal Kitchen Secrets You Can Try at Home
While some members of the royal family, including the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) and Meghan Markle, enjoy cooking and know their way around a kitchen, other royals have had chefs cook for them most of their lives.
Darren McGrady was a chef at Buckingham Palace for more than a decade, cooking for Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, and others. He was later transferred to Kensington Palace, where he worked as a personal chef to Princess Diana and her sons, Princes William and Harry, until Diana’s death in 1997.
Speaking to Heart Bingo Online, McGrady told Showbiz Cheat Sheet about the one thing he never used when cooking for the royals. He also shared some of his tips on how to make the perfect pasta, rice, and pancakes fit for a royal.
“At the palace, there was a golden rule. We had one microwave and the only thing it was used for was to soften the butter to make the afternoon tea sandwiches,” Stanton explained. “Cooking in the microwave is just not the done thing, and I don’t think it produces the best results.”
A more modern gadget that McGrady does cook with a lot these days is an air fryer.
“I really do like air fryers. I think they’re great, especially if it’s just one or two people using them,” he said. “They’re really versatile and I love doing sweet potato wedges with smoked paprika. They come out so crispy.
The former royal chef also offered some of his most important tips when cooking pasta, rice, and pancakes.
To cook pasta to perfection, McGrady says, “Whether it’s dry or fresh, it’s all about having a big pot so the pasta can move. Salt the water too, but the big mistake is adding oil. The pasta should come out sticky so it can grab onto the sauce, not slippery. Never make that mistake!”
And for rice, he acknowledged that “a rice cooker is a great way to get consistent results, but if you don’t have one, there’s a simple, foolproof method. Start by heating a little olive oil in a pan, then add the rice of your choice. As a guide, use one cup of rice for two people and let the oil lightly coat the grains. Add two cups of boiling water for every cup of rice, or use vegetable or chicken stock for extra flavor.
“Give it a quick stir and, as soon as it comes to the boil, put the lid on and set a timer for 18 minutes. Don’t lift the lid during cooking. Once the time is up, tip the rice into another bowl to stop it from overcooking and turning sticky from the residual heat of the pan.”
Finally, to make the perfect pancakes, McGrady shared, “The traditional way the royals liked them was simple. Sprinkled with sugar, a squeeze of lemon juice, folded into a triangle, then finished with a little brown butter just before serving. At home, people tend to make pancakes one at a time in the pan, and they’re eaten as quickly as they’re cooked.
“The easiest way is to make them ahead. Cook the pancakes earlier in the day, stack them up, and place a damp paper towel over the top so they don’t dry out. When you’re ready to eat, lay them out, add sugar and lemon, fold them into triangles, and arrange them in a dish. Then simply warm them gently in the oven.”
