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Diana, Princess of Wales, is a major pop culture icon remembered for her humanitarian work, fashion, and even her taste in food. Darren McGrady was Princess Diana’s personal chef for the last four years of her life, after 11 years of cooking for the late Queen Elizabeth II. In a 2022 video posted to his YouTube channel, the chef recreated a dessert that Diana loved so much that she would sneak seconds after dinner with Her Majesty.
Crêpes soufflé d’abricots was one of Princess Di’s favorite desserts, though she was too nervous to ask for seconds in front of the royal family. So, McGrady recalled, “she waited until they all left, and then she’d come down to the kitchen, and I’d always have the spare under the table waiting for her.” Similar dishes are often a flat crêpe with a soufflé filling, but McGrady’s recipe is two actual soufflés stacked atop each other, with strained apricot jam in between. More jam is ladled on top until the stack is nearly covered in sauce.
When she stayed with the Queen, McGrady made sure Diana got this dish by presenting Her Majesty with two dessert options: this, or something he knew the Queen disliked. McGrady admitted, “You wouldn’t believe the hoops that I jumped through to put Crêpes soufflé d’abricots on the menu for Princess Diana … it was underhand[ed], but the Queen did like crêpes soufflé too, so they both got to enjoy it.”
Princess Diana’s favorite foods
Crêpes soufflé d’abricots might sound fancy, but it’s actually a pretty simple dish to make, reflecting her down-to-earth tastes. Princess Diana’s favorite breakfast was overnight oats – a taste she picked up in Switzerland — including the somewhat odd choice of steeping them in orange juice instead of milk.
One can’t eat just overnight oats and crêpes soufflé all day, though. As a noble-turned-royal, she likely ate her fair share of fussy, fine-dining plates, but Princess Di’s favorite meal was stuffed red bell peppers. And she loved this humble base loaded with fillings: mushrooms, zucchini, rice, and bacon, topped with Parmesan cheese.
A rundown of some of Princess Diana’s favorite foods shows her focus on healthy eating, like stuffed eggplant and low-calorie fish dishes. Crêpes soufflé d’abricots doesn’t exactly fit that bill, given the amount of sugar, butter, and cream present. But its irresistible deliciousness clearly had her make the occasional exception (or two).
Dining and Cooking