January inevitably brings resolutions to eat healthier or drink less, with trends like Dry January and Veganuary in full swing. But former palace chef Darren McGrady says that the Royal Family wasn't particularly strict about what they ate in the New Year—except for Princess Diana.
Speaking exclusively to Smooth Spins, McGrady, who worked at both Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, says that vegetarian and vegan dishes were not "a thing" for the royals. He explains that "nobody was really into healthy eating" as a whole, opting to eat the traditional meals preferred by Queen Elizabeth instead.
The royals "would eat smaller portions, but it wasn’t due to them being on a diet or healthy eating," McGrady says. "It wasn’t until I moved across to Princess Diana and became her chef that it really was watching the fat and all the rest of it when I was cooking."
When asked if anyone ever made special requests for healthy dishes, McGrady says, "Well, it would be Princess Diana, because the other royals didn't—they had what the [late] Queen had."
At Buckingham Palace, everyone ate from Queen Elizabeth's designated menu, with McGrady previously sharing that if guests didn't like what was being served, they could "get a McDonald’s on the way home."
As for some of Diana's favorite dishes, the former royal chef says that she loved "parsnip and apple soup, which was quite festive and super healthy," along with "stuffed vegetables like peppers."
Diana also "liked butternut squash soups, so lots of soups and lots of hearty salads that had the nuts and cranberries," McGrady says. "That was more what she was into—more of the healthy eating."
The former palace chef frequently shares his favorite royal recipes and stories on his YouTube channel, including the tale of how Princess Diana requested salmon so often that she eventually got sick of it.
As for snacks, McGrady says the royals "weren't snackers," but "always had a bowl of fruit in their room." Queen Elizabeth also kept a box of Bendicks chocolates on hand, with the former chef sharing, "They were her favorite chocolates, and she would have a box of them in her room all the time, so she could have a nibble on those."
