Here's What It Takes to Cook for the Royal Family, According to a Former Royal Chef
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Being a head chef is hard enough, but being a 21-year-old plucked from obscurity to become a head chef for none other than Prince Charles? Well, that's certainly no easy feat. But Carolyn Robb impressed the future king with her delectable creations so much, that she stuck around to feed him, Princess Diana, and their two young sons, Princes Charles and Harry, for 11 years at Kensington Palace.
To be employed by the royal family was "such a privilege," says Robb, who recently authored her second cookbook Tea at the Palace: A Cookbook: 50 Delicious Afternoon Tea Recipes. "You couldn't ask for more gracious, appreciative, incredible people to work for."
As happens often with opportunities in life, the South African-born pro was in the right place at the right time when she was hired by the Prince of Wales in 1989. Charles was looking to shake up his kitchen staff by adding a female cook to the rotation, and it just so happened that Robb, a recent graduate from the esteemed Tante Marie Culinary Academy outside of London, was cooking for his relative and neighbors, The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. "Up until that point, Prince Charles always had male chefs and was looking to have a female chef," she explains. "He's forward-thinking in many ways. He just thought it would be different to have a sort of a girl's touch in the kitchen."
One interview with the late Princess of Wales followed by a test dinner run for her and Charles at Highgrove House later, Robb landed the dream gig. "That was really nerve-wracking," she recalls, but "I was incredibly fortunate."
Here, the former royal chef shares more about her experience at Kensington Palace between 1989 and 2000.
Some might say working for the family is a job of a lifetime. What do you think it takes to be a royal chef?
It's an incredible, incredible privilege to have a position like that. It's quite a devotion in that it's long hours and it's weekends and night times and quite a lot of traveling. I felt really, really fortunate because I was very young—I was single and didn't have any other commitments. It's really important to remember always that you're very much in the heart of somebody else's family home.
What does a typical day look like for a chef working for the royal family?
It's sort of atypical of a regular chef's job. If you're in a hotel or a restaurant, then obviously you have shifts and every day is pretty much the same in that you're in the same kitchen, cooking the same menu, and working with the same group of chefs. Whereas, what I loved so much about the job is that it was so, so different.
In what ways was the role different?
We traveled a lot. So we might be in London or we might be in Scotland or if we were on a trip abroad, we might even be based on the Royal yacht somewhere in Hong Kong or somewhere scattered far and wide all across the world. So, there wasn't really a typical day as such.
But I'm sure there was more routine when Charles, Diana, and the kids were in town?
Generally, we would start before breakfast and then the morning was busy, getting ready for lunch. We fed staff members as well as members of the family. And then it just depended on what Their Royal Highnesses's schedule was. Sometimes it included a business dinner or lunch or a reception. Sometimes they were in, sometimes they were out. Sometimes it was late, sometimes it was early. And sometimes it was just the family, which I really loved. So that was another great joy about the job is that it was so varied.
What was the menu preparation process like?
Whatever meals were required for that day were chosen in the morning, and Their Royal Highnesses's obviously chose what they would like to have. So, they were given a choice of menus in a little menu book, and then they would decide for that day. If it was a larger event, then it would be done further in advance, but I think most of us don't really know what we're going to want to eat tomorrow. So it's quite nice to do it on the date.
I can't imagine you worked alone. How many people were part of your team, or generally are in a royal kitchen staff?
Well, it depends. There were three chefs and then obviously there were other staff members as well. There were butlers, protection officers, chauffeurs, nannies, and valets. So yes, compared to, for example, the team at Buckingham Palace, where there were many, many chefs in the brigade, we were a relatively small team.
Being that you were born in South Africa, was there any room to add flair from your background to the dishes or were you able to introduce anything new to Charles and Diana?
To a degree. My mom was English. My father was South African. So, although I grew up in South Africa, I'd say I grew up on [eating] traditional, British food. But yes, there was always room to add flair and inspiration to dishes.
Rumor has it the royals don't like eating foods with onions and garlic—would you be able to confirm?
The family is always very conscious of the fact that they are in contact with the public a lot—well, pre-pandemic. So yes, they're very careful about things like that. But I wouldn't say they were totally banned from all cooking. I used onions in [my dishes].
You worked for the family for so many years. Was there a personal favorite that you enjoyed cooking or a meal they loved and always requested from you?
As a family, they all had their own favorites. I know farm-to-table and cooking with the seasons is quite trendy now, but we really were doing that a long time ago. Prince Charles knew that's the way he wanted to eat and that's the way he wanted us to operate in the kitchen. They all absolutely loved all of the fresh produce from the garden, whether that be strawberries in the summer or apples in the autumn. In that way, we were incredibly lucky. There's nothing better than cooking with freshly picked produce, especially when it's homegrown, too.
I read that one of your recipes in Tea at the Palace includes a meringue that William and Harry loved. Was there a particular recipe Charles and Diana enjoyed, too?
Not specifically. When I did this cookbook, I wanted to do an afternoon tea book and do it against a backdrop of some of the amazing royal palaces and castles and residences. And then I actually developed new recipes to tie in with each one. So, I would be very happy to serve anything from it to the royal family. But one of my favorite chapters is the Highgrove House one. There's a mint and white chocolate cake and there's a lemon and thyme cake. They're really pretty, they're really easy to make, and they're just beautiful. I love using fresh herbs and fresh flowers and that kind of thing in cakes. I think they're very underused.
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