Why Queen Consort Camilla’s coronation menu concern is unnecessary

Queen Consort Camilla’s son Tom Parker-Bowles revealed last week that his mother had two specific requests ahead of the coronation.

Mr. Parker Bowles appeared on The News Agents podcast and made rare revelations about his mother, including the two ingredients she’d like to be banned from the menu during the coronation banquet.

Asked by hosts Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel about the food the 75-year-old would not like served at the coronation, Mr Parker Bowles said: “Chilli, garlic. I think that garlic can make your breath smell somewhat so I think just for purely social reasons you wouldn’t have garlic.”

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He added: “She doesn’t like chilli. She doesn’t like massive spice. And I think if you’re walking around, and I do not speak from experience on this, but you’re walking around and meeting lots of people… I think you have to be a little bit careful not to get the tummy too excited.”

Luckily for the Queen Consort, these ingredients are unlikely to feature, meaning her concerns are unfounded.

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HELLO! spoke exclusively to royal chef Graham Tinsley MBE, who has created a special coronation menu at his restaurant The Vines, who assured us Camilla needn’t worry.

“We never really included chilli or garlic when preparing banquets,” Graham shared. “I don’t think Charles likes a lot of garlic and we wouldn’t use chilli anyway in any of our dishes. So there’s no problem about leaving those two out.”

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That said, Graham revealed that the royal family has little input in the menus. “When it comes to choosing the menu for the banquet, most of the time they leave it up to us,” Graham told HELLO! “The royals don’t really interfere with the menu because the food is secondary.

“It’s the occasion first of all, and the food afterwards. This was especially the case with the late Queen because she was so busy entertaining, she rarely ate what we prepared. The royals don’t tend to approve what is set to be served at the banquet.”

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Without input from the royals, it seems a daunting decision to choose what to serve at a royal banquet. However, during his time preparing meals for King Charles and Queen Elizabeth II, along with many other dignitaries and heads of state, Graham honed the skill, explaining that the menu was always dictated by what was in season and what was local to the area of the banquet.

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“When we’re planning a royal menu, we’ve got to consider what the occasion is, what’s in season, what would the royals would like and whether it’s a lunch or a dinner.”

Find out more The Vines’ coronation menu here