What's it like cooking for King Charles and the royal family?

Have you ever wondered what it is like to cook for the royal family? And in particular, are you curious about what it is like to cook for King Charles?

Considering King Charles is actually known for his sustainability efforts and his preference for local products, it makes sense that any meals made for the king will align with those ideals. And according to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, it seems that a former royal chef has revealed that "the household participated in seasonal eating."

When it comes to cooking for King Charles, it is really all about aligning with his environmental goals. This might mean sourcing produce straight from their own sustainable gardens. And a meal might shift based on what the king would bring into the kitchen after a walk through those gardens.

If you have ever watched The Great British Menu, then you might actually be familiar with the sustainability efforts of the king thanks to Series 5 when the chefs were challenged with creating a sustainable menu for a banquet that would honor producers across the UK. The then Prince of Wales was a guest of honor at the banquet and throughout the season, we learned about not only the producers of the UK, but also more about the then prince's appreciation for local produce, meats, and cheeses.

What is it like cooking for King Charles?

According to Carolyn Robb, who cooked for the royal family starting in 1987 until 2000, "Charles especially appreciates local honey or home-grown asparagus, always from nearby suppliers." This means that the menu for the household is based on the idea of using the freshest produce and supplies.

In order to make the most of any ingredients that they have on hand, a selection of meals will be supplied to the king and queen in the morning and they will decide what it is that they want for that day. Of course, even with a pre-selected menu, things could shift throughout the day. And changes might come from the king himself (and those garden walks).

It seems that he also opts for a vegetarian diet at least twice per week as part of his attempts at clean living. But even with his desire to eat vegetarian twice a week, it is important to eat whatever is in season, which means that things would need to be at their peak freshness to be served to the royal family.

Knowing that the king is a fan of sustainability and fresh products, one might think that creating these royal menus would actually be easier since you know what is available at any given time of the year, but it sounds like there are still plenty of challenges when it comes to making meals happen.

It's not that surprising that cooking for the royal family would come with challenges. But at the same time, we can appreciate the fact that the king is all about making sure that the products being used are local, fresh, and sustainable.

Are you surprised by what the former royal chef shared? Did you know that King Charles was all about sustainability?