the controversial choice of a spinach quiche for the festive menu

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In 1953, Elizabeth II had chosen a chicken curry. For the menu of this historic day, Charles and Camilla opted for a spinach, broad bean and tarragon quiche. The recipe presented on social networks in April made the headlines across the Channel and sparked a lot of reactions.

A French-inspired dish on the table of the King of England. Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla chose a quiche with spinach, beans and tarragon (called “French tarragon” across the Channel), as the main dish for their coronation meal on May 6. Almost 70 years after the “coronation chicken” served during the ascent to the throne of Elizabeth II, this vegetarian menu has made the front page of the British press and sparked many comments – often critical – on social networks. Cooking is politics.

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Spinach quiche “will she stand up to the coronation chicken of 1953?”, ask him Daily mail. This poached chicken coated in a creamy curry sauce, served at Buckingham Palace during a banquet for the Queen’s coronation in 1953, has indeed become a classic of British gastronomy. It is now offered as a prepared dish in supermarkets, as a filling for sandwiches or in several variations in cookbooks.

By presenting the recipe on video on social networks, Monday, April 17, Buckingham Palace also clearly wants encourage subjects of the kingdom to prepare their own “Coronation quiche”. Several media, including the very serious Guardian, have somehow participated in this effort by publishing the list of ingredients. The daily even gives advice to avoid the effect “egg soup in pie crust”.

A quiche accessible to all budgets?

It is a dish “easily adaptable according to tastes and preferences”, says the royal family on its Twitter account. But is the spinach quiche accessible to all budgets? In full inflation, British Internet users believe that the publicity made to the feast of the king and the queen is indecent. The spinach pie “will it be distributed to people in need?”, “will it be available in food banks”, ask Twitter users.

“The dozen eggs is approaching 16 pounds, man”, challenges a Twittos reacting to the images shot in the kitchens of Buckingham. Other subjects of Her Majesty point out that supermarkets across the country have recently experienced a shortage of eggs.

A king adept at vegetarian menus

Why did Charles and Camilla choose spinach quiche? The British press regularly echoes the culinary preferences of royalty and the king does not hide it, he himself is a fan of eggs, in sauce or boiled to accompany any dish. Charles III is also and above all a follower and a defender of a vegetarian diet. In order to reduce his carbon footprint, his menu of the week always includes two days without meat or fish and one day without dairy products, as he explained to the BBC in 2021.

The King of England is also known to take a close interest in the vegetables grown in Buckingham’s vegetable garden. The choice of spinach and broad beans is a way for him to promote seasonal products. And to come back to tarragon, several British chefs wonder about this original choice of an herb typical of French gastronomy. Is this a nod to the visit to France that Charles and Camilla had to postpone last month?


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