It's no secret that the royal family lives by a set of rules different from ordinary people. In addition to the royal family upholding behavioral standards, some of the rules extend to their plates too.
There are certain foods Queen Elizabeth has restricted palace chefs from using and advised other royals against eating. Garlic is apparently the ingredient she dislikes most.
It's been long rumored that the queen hates garlic and banned palace chefs from cooking with it, and the queen's daughter-in-law, Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, confirmed the royal family is indeed not supposed to eat garlic. "I hate to say this, but garlic. Garlic is a no-no," Bowles replied when asked about royal dietary restrictions during an appearance on MasterChef Australia on Wednesday.
Show judge Gary Mehigan asked Bowles if garlic wasn't allowed "because you're talking, chatting," to which Prince Charles' wife agreed. "Yes, exactly," she said. "So you always have to lay off the garlic."
Another cooking ingredient largely off the royal table is onions. It is unclear if chefs are advised to keep them away from the queen (and the rest of the royal family) due to because of smell or taste, but cooks are permitted to use onions sparingly.
Darren McGrady, a former royal chef who worked at Buckingham Palace for more than 15 years, told Recipes Plus that cooks "can never serve anything with garlic or too many onions."
"The queen would never have garlic on the menu," he added.
Certain ingredients used to cook up dishes aren't the only things reportedly off limits. Members of the royal family aren't supposed to eat shellfish of any kind—due to the higher risk of food poisoning—or meat that's cooked rare, according to a 2000 BBC report. Long pasta and tomato sauces shouldn't grace the royal dinner table unless it's for a very specific special occasion.
The queen doesn't fancy starches either, including rice or mashed potatoes. "The queen's not really bothered about food," McGrady said in a separate interview with CNN, noting that Elizabeth generally prefers to eat grilled or poached fish with vegetables and salad opposed to starchy sides.
Just because Elizabeth has banned certain foods doesn't mean members of the royal family always abide by the rules when they're eating outside of the palace. It's been said Prince Charles will occasionally indulge in a dish containing shellfish.
Uncommon Knowledge
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