Capercaillie, golden eagles, Scottish wildcats, deer, and grouse roam the purple-hued moorlands of Balmoral Estate — the Scottish home of the Royal family since 1852. Look down and you’ll find salmon prancing in the arctic rivers, look up to spot red squirrels mischievously scurrying through the treetops. Queen Elizabeth II spent most summers at the Highland castle in Aberdeenshire. It’s where Philip proposed, and then where the loved-up duo honeymooned, so it’s no wonder her majesty found the 50,000 acres of lush countryside a sanctuary she looked forward to visiting very much — along with her corgis.
According to Darren McGrady, who served as the late monarch’s personal chef, she also liked dishes that incorporated Scotland’s indigenous produce (via Business Insider). McGrady, who would take her grandkids on secret trips to McDonald’s, said: “When she was up at Balmoral, she loved to eat local produce and would get excited about anything off the estate, the berries, the vegetables, or anything from the gardens. The deer, the salmon from the River Dee.”
Balmoral Castle boasts its own gardens which grow a rainbow of organic veg, with blueberries found in greenhouses, and herbs in Prince Philip’s personally-requested kitchen vegetable patch. No wonder the Queen, who championed sustainability and often turned her hand to gardening, enjoyed eating her way through the delicious vegetables from local fields.
What else did the Queen eat?
Darren McGrady, who has cooked for over 100 different kings, queens, and presidents, says Queen Elizabeth was extremely disciplined with her diet, opting for four low-starch small meals per day, including a grilled fish lunch. Nothing went to waste with her Majesty. She was renowned for eating leftovers, and once, as legend goes, sent a whole lemon garnish back to the kitchen to be reused in another meal.
The River Dee is one of the United Kingdom’s best fishing spots, and an art piece called “Salmon School” was even constructed at Balmoral to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. But it wasn’t all healthy eating; she was also partial to a treat from time to time. Occasionally, she’d send a butler to town to fetch fish and chips, and was also a renowned chocoholic; her favorite desserts being mousse and chocolate biscuit cake (dark chocolate being her preference).
She also indulged in the quintessential British tradition of afternoon tea, allegedly eating a sweet jam sandwich every single day, and, surprisingly, was a fan of a hot sauce that’s probably in your pantry — Tabasco. She was also known to enjoy a glass of Dubonnet fortified wine, and a gin martini with a lemon twist was Queen Elizabeth’s cocktail of choice – but watch out, or you may find the lemon back on the kitchen counter. So, she was just like us, really, and maybe we could learn a lesson or two about eating local and sourcing ingredients from nearby eateries for a more sustainable way of living.
