If you were royalty, what would you eat? Would you dine on aged Wagyu beef and caviar every night? Or fly in chefs from the world’s best restaurants to make you one-of-a-kind specialties? Unfortunately, most of us will indeed never become royalty, but thanks to insiders like Chef Darren McGrady, we do have some insight into what the royals eat.
McGrady cooked for the British royals for fifteen years, serving as a personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Prince (now King) Charles, Diana, Princess of Wales, and the royal Princes Harry and William. McGrady has a popular YouTube channel where he shares the recipes he’d make for the royal family. And most of the dishes are surprisingly straightforward.
Through McGrady’s videos, we’ve learned that Princess Diana ate overnight oats every day (talk about a trend setter!) and stuffed peppers weekly. King Charles loves these Cheesy Baked Eggs, and William and Harry would constantly request a very British dessert called Queen of Puddings.
In one of McGrady’s latest YouTube videos, he introduces us to “one of King Charles’ favorite dishes,” the Italian comfort food: mushroom risotto. Of course, he was Prince Charles when he enjoyed McGrady’s cooking, but we’ll bet this humble, earthy dish is still one of his favorites.
About King Charles’ Favorite Mushroom Risotto
DOTDASH MEREDITH FOOD STUDIOS
“King Charles has a different palate [than] his mother,” McGrady explains in his video. “The Queen was very much into traditional French cuisine and British comfort food, but King Charles really, really likes Italian cuisine, and especially this northern Italian dish. King Charles preferred [risotto] with wild mushrooms. In fact, he preferred to actually go foraging for his own wild mushrooms.”
We learn that in his free time, the then-Prince would explore the large 50,000-acre area picking wild mushrooms, which he would then take to the chef so they could include them in a variety of dishes. Charles often found chanterelles, a beautiful mushroom with a firm yet tender texture and a fruity aroma. “They are one of my favorite mushrooms,” said McBrady. “And they just make the perfect risotto.”
How to Make King Charles’ Favorite Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients:
1 cup arborio rice4 cups strong chicken broth, simmering in separate pot1 tsp crushed garlic 1 cup finely diced onion2 TBS olive oil2 cups Chanterelle mushrooms (cut into bite-sized pieces) Salt and pepper to taste1 cup grated Parmesan cheese¼ cup dry white wine2 TBS unsalted butterSliced truffles, to garnish (optional)
Directions:
Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Add the onions and a pinch of salt and sauté until soft.
When onions start to cook, add the garlic and mushrooms, stir, and sauté until they are soft, but not fully cooked, for a few minutes. Then, add the rice and stir.
Slowly add 1 large ladle of hot broth at a time. Stir consistently, and don’t add another ladle until the last bit of broth is mostly absorbed; this will take upwards of 15 minutes.
Once the risotto is almost done, stir in the white wine and Parmesan, then season with pepper. Taste it at this stage to see if it needs more salt.
Remove it from the heat and stir in the unsalted butter.
Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the white wine and add the Parmesan. For an optional touch, serve garnished with black truffles.
Enjoy!
Chef McGrady’s Tips on Making Mushroom Risotto
Add garlic: While optional, garlic adds an incredible flavor and aroma to this otherwise simple dish. McGrady states that King Charles likes garlic in his food, whereas “with the Queen we could never use garlic at all in her food.”
Don’t thoroughly cook the mushrooms: Before the rice goes in, that is. McGrady says to start cooking the mushrooms with the onion before the rice goes in, and that the fungi will continue to cook as the dish comes together.
Take your time: “Now, a good risotto takes 20 minutes to cook,” notes McGrady. “I see so many chefs making this where they’ll throw in all the broth and let it boil away. But if you want that creamy consistency, you have to add in a little broth at a time.”
Get the right consistency: Risotto should “relax” or “run” on the plate, not clump together, as it would be if you were making a side of white rice. So make sure to pull it off the heat before the liquid is completely absorbed.
Dining and Cooking