QUEEN Elizabeth II is queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Queen Elizabeth II is also supreme governor of the Church of England. Although they recognize the same monarch, these 16 nations mentioned are independent of each other (although Queen Elizabeth II is represented by a governor general). But basically, Queen Elizabeth II lives in the island of Britain at the heart of the United Kingdom particularly in its capital London at the Buckingham Palace.

Now we will take a look about the cuisine in the United Kingdom and even take a glimpse of what the royals like Queen Elizabeth II are eating. Among Queen Elizabeth II’s personal favorites are eggs, fish soup, meat, tea, sweet delicacies as desserts and wine. As one can surely read, these menus include food which are deemed not so health conscious but never mind it. There has never been any monarch or member of the royal court in the United Kingdom who died of cardiac arrest in his 40s or 50s. Everybody died of natural causes or old age. Anyway, the royal court in the United Kingdom is attended by the best physicians and physiologists in the land.

Occasionally though, Queen Elizabeth II likes to hosts formal dinners. In these formal dinners, pea soup, lamb and select quality cheese is served. If there are visiting heads of state or monarchs from other countries, then the dinner will feature viands from the visitor’s country of origin. If Iranian ambassador to the United Kingdom Mohammad Hossein Adeli wishes to see the queen for instance, he will be served quail eggs featuring caviar plucked from sturgeons in the Caspian Sea, roasted peacock, roast lamb and raspberry and crayfish mousse for dessert. There are regular royal feasts each year. During Easter, the Windsor Castle prepares food for the London diplomatic community as an annual thanksgiving celebration. It is noted that Windsor Castle has its own kitchen staff but for royal events, the folks at Buckingham Palace are called in. Another diplomatic dinner is slated every November with about 1,000 ambassadors and officials of various embassies in attendance. Then in June, Buckingham Palace hosts another dinner at the Royal Ascot.

Now let’s talk about the royal kitchen in the United Kingdom’s Buckingham Palace. The kitchen there is so huge that it is not just composed of one room but is a series of rooms at the palace basement. There are such rooms as the main kitchen, larder kitchen and delivery bay. It is manned by 20 chefs led by Andrew Farquharson. Queen Elizabeth II herself chooses her menu to vary the tastes. This is constantly monitored by her personal physicians though.

Want to have a taste of what Queen Elizabeth II likes? There are restaurants in London which replicate the menus found at the Buckingham Palace. These can be pricey at times and are not available at the restaurants itself but through catering service instead.