King Charles has long been a champion of organic food and farming, and although he enjoys fine dining, his favorite meal is rather simple. Chef Visen Anenden, who served King Charles and Queen Camilla for nearly a decade, recently shared some of his former boss’s surprising preferences—and a gift Prince Harry once brought to the kitchens.
Speaking on behalf of Heart Bingo, Anenden says that although The King is famously known to love the finer things in life, he's actually similarly inclined to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, and her unfussy eating habits.
“I mean, his dream meal would probably be something simple like an omelette,” the former royal chef admitted. “He’s very fond of eggs, so he’d be more than happy with an omelette, or perhaps scrambled eggs, anything along those lines.”
Anenden says that Prince Harry even gave The King a special, enormous egg one time to honor his dad’s love of the breakfast food. “Harry once got him an ostrich egg which he asked me to cook up into scrambled eggs,” the chef said. “It served about 14 people. It had a really gamey smell but he seemed to like it.”
Touching on a longstanding rumor about The King's over-the-top breakfast requests, Anenden says that it's “complete nonsense.”
“I remember a story going around claiming that Charles had 12 eggs lined up every morning to test which one was best cooked,” he says, adding that “never happened” and he has “no idea where it came from.”
“It wouldn’t fit with him at all, especially given his views on waste,” the chef continues. “He’ll have one egg, simply prepared. He just genuinely enjoys them, and it’s something he often chooses as a starter.”
Another rather basic food that King Charles loves is a baked potato. “If he had been out at something like a film premiere, where food wasn’t part of the occasion, he would prefer to return to a simple cold supper, usually around 10 p.m.,” Anenden says. “He never expected anyone to stay on for it. Instead, he would ask for something prepared in advance, perhaps a pie or quiche with a few salads, along with a jacket potato.”
The King was fond of a super crispy skin on his potatoes, along with “plenty of butter and a pinch of salt,” the former royal chef reveals.
