Former royal chef reveals Queen Elizabeth’s surprising breakfast habits and favourite treats

Ever wondered what a royal breakfast looks like?

Well if you thought it was a full spread of the finest ingredients served on silver, think again. A former royal chef has lifted the proverbial silver-plated lid on what Queen Elizabeth ate for breakfast and the answer is surprisingly plain.

Savoy-trained chef Darren McGrady opened up to Heart Bingo on his time feeding the British royal family for a 15 year period and learning the ins and outs of serving different royal households.

McGrady admitted that cooking for Queen Elizabeth and her extended household was a huge operation, though the late monarch preferred plain and simple food in the morning.

“The Queen’s breakfast was at 9 AM, served in her room,” he said.

“She’d help herself to cereal from a Tupperware container, especially Special K, even though there were 20 chefs available to cook anything.”

At dinner time, the late Queen preferred heartier meals made from local produce such as grouse from Sandringham or venison from Balmoral.

Dessert though, was a different matter, as McGrady reveals the queen had a sweet tooth and could not resist chocolate, especially if it was “over 60 per cent cocoa”.

“Any dessert with chocolate on the menu was sure to be chosen,” he said.

“Her birthday cake was a chocolate ganache cake using the same recipe every year, a recipe dating back to Queen Victoria’s chef.”

McGrady added that her grandson, Prince William, shared her love of chocolate and was particularly partial to chocolate ice-cream, though how it was served varied greatly from place to place.

At Buckingham Palace, it could take 20 minutes for the young Prince to be served his favourite treat as McGrady explained.

“The Queen would press a button, the page would come, she’d ask for the ice cream, and it triggered a long chain: head chef, pastry chef, silver pantry, glass pantry, linen room,” he said.

“Finally, 20 minutes later, William got his homemade ice cream presented to him.”

Food service at Kensington Palace, however, was more simplified.

“William would walk into the kitchen and say, ‘Darren, can I have some chocolate ice cream, please?’ I’d say, ‘Help yourself,’” he said.

“He’d grab Häagen-Dazs chocolate chip, that was his favourite, open it, and sit in the windowsill eating it.

“It was so much more relaxed over at Kensington.”

But not everyone shared the Queen and Prince William’s love of sweets, as one former Kensington Palace resident explained.

Prince Harry previously revealed that he favours savoury foods and looked forward to one special meal made by the late Prince Phillip each summer.

The details came from Harry’s infamous memoir Spare where he reminisces about the time the royals were enjoying their annual holiday in Balmoral.

“Normally I’d beg him to make a pot of his specialty, spaghetti Bolognese. This night, for some reason, I didn’t,” Harry said.

Despite his unusual cooking techniques, the Duke was considered an expert griller in the Royal Family and no one was allowed to take his place behind the grill.

Read more: Princess Anne’s breakfast of choice that may make your stomach turn