Darren McGrady was personal chef to Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace for 11 years before moving to Kensington Palace in 1992 to be the chef for Diana, Princess of Wales and her two boys Prince William and Prince Harry for four years. So the former royal chef knows all too well what kinds of dishes Prince George will no doubt be tucking into as he grows up alongside his younger sibling, who is due later this month.
Ahead of the birth of William and the Duchess of Cambridge's second baby, the top chef – who has also cooked for presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton, as well as penning the cookbook Eating Royally – has revealed the eating habits of the young royals in a new interview with People magazine.
Most meals would consist of "traditional, English food", reveals the chef, whether young William and Harry were staying at Buckingham or Kensington palaces. Their favourites included cottage pie and peas – of which Prince William was particularly fond – as well as poached chicken, rice and fish cakes.
"Everything a normal British child would have," says Darren. "The only difference is that they had a chef cooking it for them." Their favourite sweets included jam roly-poly, he added, noting: "You don't get much more quintessentially British comfort food than that. Each time, I'd send up six pieces, and each of them would go." The boys were also big fans of puddings, particularly of summer pudding and sticky toffee pudding, also known to be one of Kate's favourites.
Darren also recalled a time when William and Harry decided they wanted pizza instead of roast chicken for dinner – and the cute rebels swapped their nanny's note with their own note requesting such.