Former Royal Chef Reveals Only 1 Royal Family Member ‘Actually Talked’ to Them
A former royal pastry chef revealed that Prince Philip was the only member of the royal family who “actually talked” to the kitchen staff. Here’s what the chef said and how it reflects what other former employees have said about the Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Philip was the only royal family member who ‘actually talked’ to kitchen staff, says former royal pastry chef
Former royal patisserie chef Fiona Burton opened up about what it was like working in the pastry kitchen at Windsor Castle.
Speaking on behalf of Slingo, Burton shared her fond memories of Prince Philip, whom she said had a great sense of humor.
“I really liked him. He had that comical side to him and he was very friendly,” Burton recalled. “The way he would talk to the chefs and even myself felt like he was interested and wanted to listen. He spent most of the time going into the main kitchen because he was talking to the chef about steak and how he liked his steak to be cooked.”
Burton also noted that the Duke of Edinburgh was the only royal family member that “actually talked” to the pastry kitchen staff.
“But when he did come into the pastry kitchen, he was interested in what we were making, it wasn’t necessarily requests for anything,” she said. “At that point, that’s when you’re allowed to engage and acknowledge. That was pretty special because he was the one out of all [of the royals] that ever came down and wandered around. He was the one who would actually talk to us.”
Prince Harry was ‘comical’ like his grandfather Prince Philip, says the former royal pastry chef
Fiona Burton also has memories of Prince William and Prince Harry. Although Prince Philip talked to her more, she said the younger princes were always “pleasant.”
“They were really pleasant and liked coming into the pastry kitchen, which many people do with it being sweets,” she shared. “That’s where I developed one of my recipes, which is the chewy cookies, which was for them for their afternoon teas. I’ve developed it even further moving on from there. They were always pleasant.”
She added that Prince Harry seemingly adopted the Duke of Edinburgh’s sense of humor.
“He was the one who would laugh the most,” Burton said. “He was a bit comical and always reminded me of his grandad.”
A former royal staff member said the Duke of Edinburgh brought out Queen Elizabeth’s ‘great sense of humor’
Another former staff member of the royal family recounted Prince Philip having a comical side. Steven Kaye worked for Queen Elizabeth as a royal footman for several years. He said the Duke of Edinburgh had a way of bringing out Her Majesty’s wicked sense of humor.
“She does have a great sense of humor and she’d show it especially when she and the Duke were together,” Kaye said on behalf of Slingo.
The former footman described an incident when someone gave the queen particularly smelly cheese. Although the royal family donates many gifts, Her Majesty chose to keep the cheese.
“There was one time when somebody had given the queen a cheese as a gift at Sandringham,” Kaye said. “I don’t think I’ve ever smelt anything like it in my life. It was horrendous, you could smell it as soon as you walked into the room.”
He continued, “The Duke had this grinder in his hands and was grinding this cheese, he was sitting at one end of the table and the queen at the other and he shouted over to the queen, ‘Lilibet, smell your fingers.’ She just looked over at him and cried ‘Oh Philip.’ Myself and the other footmen all looked at each other like did he actually just say that? It was really quite funny.”
