Queen Elizabeth's Favorite Cuisine Is Pretty Surprising
When it comes to the dietary choices of Britain's royal family, we've learned that the Queen usually is the one with the final say on what's for dinner… and what is not to be served. We know her royal highness has a strong distaste for garlic, mostly because of its overwhelming flavor in cuisine and pungent qualities that leave diners with terrible breath.
Which is why many Anglophiles may be shocked to read that the Queen has discovered a love for Carribean food, arguably one of the most flavorful and pungent cuisines in the world.
The Home Box Office network (HBO) will release a new documentary on Monday, October 1, called Queen of the World, a feature-length film that gives viewers an insider's look into life at Buckingham Palace and the gradual transference of royal duties to the Queen's extended family, including Prince William and Kate Middleton, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
According to reports from British publication Express, the documentary catches a behind-the-scenes look at the Caribbean Scholars program, which launched earlier this year, that ended up bringing Caribbean food into the Queen's personal kitchen at Buckingham Palace.
Royal chef Mark Flanagan told Express that the program's visiting fellows cooked a few dishes that Queen Elizabeth couldn't get enough of.
"A number of the Caribbean dishes were particularly well received," he said. "The callaloo soup was an absolute sensation. I had email after email telling me that it must now feature more regularly.”
Interested in learning more about what the royal family eats? Read on:
Jared Forbes, a food service manager at Government House in Nassau, Bahamas, is reportedly the chef who brought his signature dishes to the Queen's table. In the upcoming documentary, he says that he was thrilled to show the royal family a bit of what many home cooks eat in the Bahamas, according to Insider.
"It's a change from what they are used to, from fish and chips," Forbes said. "I don't think my grandma, when she taught me how to make this rice, that she ever thought I would be serving it to Buckingham Palace. I'm quite proud of that."
What is callaloo soup, exactly? It's a stew often made with crab, shrimp, or lobster and steeped in taro root and coconut milk. Nearly all recipes call for okra and the leaves of the callaloo plant. If you don't have a Carribean store nearby, spinach makes a good substitution—and here is a recipe to give you an idea what is in it.
If you're looking to try some Caribbean dishes, our editors have previously shared their favorite Caribbean pantry staples and recipes that can get you started.
One of our all-time favorite uses of traditional Caribbean flavors is in pork chops with mango salsa, a filling meal that only contains 192 calories and 360mg of sodium per serving.
