High-SocieTea
"Where the Art and Elegance of Taking Tea is Treasured"
Source: www.theroyalchef.com Filling: 3 oz. raisins
"A Royal Chef"
Working in what is undoubtedly the most famous kitchen in the world, in what is irrefutably the most famous Palace in the world, Chef Darren McGrady prepared meals for Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England and her family and guests for 11 years. As a Senior Chef at Bu
ckingham Palace, Chef McGrady cooked for the Royal Family on a daily basis and catered official State banquets attended by four U.S. Presidents and over 100 world leaders.
From humble beginnings in Nottinghamshire, England, Chef McGrady achieved the U.S. equivalent of a Bachelor’s Degree in Culinary Arts and moved to London where he became a chef at the renowned Savoy Hotel. But that position was "a piece of cake," as he only had responsibility for one dish night after night at the Hotel.
When Prince Charles married Diana, Chef McGrady went to view the wedding procession in person. Seeing Buckingham Palace in the distance, he thought it would be a wonderful place to work. And, four weeks after sending in his resume, he was hired.
Working at Buckingham Palace was much more challenging, however. There, he worked his way up to Senior Chef where he was responsible for entire meals as well as the catered banquets, along with overseeing a kitchen staff of 20. But he had a love for pastry, and eventually became a Senior Pastry Chef preparing some of the world’s finest sweet treats for the Royal Family.
Meals at Buckingham Palace are served on Meissen china with gold flatware. And, it is quite an ordeal to serve those meals to the Royal Family. You see, the kitchen is 1.25 miles from the Queen’s dining quarters. So the food is put into an enclosed cart and two Palace pages take the food upstairs to serve Her Majesty. One page runs along the Palace halls pushing the cart, while the other page keeps pace ahead bursting open doors to clear the way. When they reach the elevator to go up to the Queen’s quarters, the page upstairs hears the lift motor and goes in to Her Majesty to announce the meal’s arrival.
Chef McGrady did not work exclusively at Buckingham Palace. He followed the Queen to Windsor Castle, Sandringham House where Christmas was celebrated, Balmoral Castle and tours around the world aboard the royal yacht Britannia. 
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, has several favorite teas. They are Earl Grey, Darjeeling and Lapsang Souchang. And her favorite sweet treat is chocolate. So for her birthday, Chef McGrady prepared the Royal Birthday Cake, a rich chocolate sponge cake with a chocolate cream filling. He has graciously provided the recipe for this decadent dessert, that you will find below. Of course, scones were always prepared for Her Majesty and served along with her tea each day. When she grew tired of them, she would break them up and feed them to her Corgies. On the occasions when tea sandwiches were prepared for Her Majesty, they were never to be cut into square or rectangular shapes. These were a sign of ill-will to the Monarch. Chef McGrady had to cut off the corners and make them into octagon shapes. A quirky but true fact of life in the Palace kitchen. 
When Diana married Prince Charles and moved to Buckingham Palace, she befriended Chef McGrady, spending time in the kitchen chatting. And when Princes William and Harry were born, Diana would often leave them in Chef McGrady’s care while she snacked in the Palace kitchen. When the Prince and Princess divorced, Chef McGrady followed Princess Diana to Kensington Palace, becoming her personal chef. There, he frequently prepared her favorite sweet treat, Bread and Butter Pudding. You can also find the recipe for this sumptuous dish below. Diana was more a coffee drinker, but when she did drink tea, it was usually Earl Grey. 
After Princess Diana’s tragic death, Prince Charles asked Chef McGrady to work for him and the boys. But Chef McGrady felt he would be a sad reminder of the past and left the employ of the Royal Family. Remembering his many conversations with Princess Diana about how she wanted to move to the United States, Chef McGrady followed her dream and sent out resumes to work in America. He received an offer from Lisa Marie Presley, but wound up working as a private chef in Dallas, Texas.
In his all too rare times of relaxation, Chef McGrady brews his favorite tea, Rose Pouchong, a semi-fermented black leaf tea from Guangdong Province with rose petals added for a fragrant, delicate flavor. And his favorite sweet treat is scones slathered with English Salted Butter. He loves to break open a hot scone and cover it with butter so that the melted richness runs down his chin.
Chef Darren McGrady enjoyed an extraordinary career as Senior Chef and Senior Pastry Chef to Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family, and then as Personal Chef to Princess Diana and Princes William and Harry. His culinary talents served the Royal Family and their guests well for many years. He is most likely deeply missed in the dining halls of Buckingham Palace.
Our sincere appreciation goes to Chef Darren McGrady for his most generous assistance with the preparation of this newsletter. And, to Rick Phillips, Vice President for Media Relations and Arniesha Hayes, Marketing and Media Specialist with Creaxion Public Relations for making the introduction. Also, a special thank you goes to Alexis Hurley, Author’s Agent with Inkwell Management and Rachel Osteen, Marketing Specialist with Thomas Nelson Books for their tireless efforts on our behalf.
Recipes/Photos reprinted from EATING ROYALLY: Recipes & Remembrances from a Palace Kitchen by Darren McGrady (Thomas Nelson Books, 2006). Printed with permission by Darren McGrady and InkWell Management.
Royal Birthday Cake
1 lb. Ghirardelli semisweet
chocolate, chopped and
divided
2 cups (1 pint) heavy cream,
divided
Sponge Cake:
6 egg yolks
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons all
purpose flour
4 tablespoons Dutch cocoa
powder
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted
butter, melted and cooled
For the filling, prepare at least six hours before baking the cake. Put half the chopped chocolate into a mixing bowl. In a separate saucepan, bring half the heavy cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate, letting the chocolate melt. Whisk it until smooth and well incorporated. Refrigerate until it cools and thickens to the consistency of a spreadable icing.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For the cake, butter an 8" round cake pan and line it with buttered parchment paper. Set a metal mixing bowl over a saucepan half filled with simmering water. The water shouldn’t touch the bottom of the mixing bowl. Add the egg yolks, eggs and sugar to the mixing bowl, and whisk together, allowing the heat from the simmering water to warm the mixture. In a separate bowl, sift the flour and cocoa together.
Keep whisking the egg mixture until it doubles in volume. Gently fold in the flour and cocoa mixture. Then fold in the cooled butter. Spoon the cake batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cake springs back slightly when pressed. Remove the cake from the oven onto a cooling rack.
For the topping, put the remaining half of the chopped chocolate into a mixing bowl. In a separate saucepan, bring the remaining heavy cream to a simmer. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate, letting the chocolate melt. Whisk it until smooth and well incorporated, and then set it aside while you assemble the cake.
For the assembly, slice the sponge cake into three horizontal layers. Place the bottom layer on a cooling rack. Using the refrigerated icing, top the bottom disc with a thick layer of icing, and then add the next layer of sponge cake and another thick layer of icing. Place the top of the cake over the second layer of icing.
Ladle the warm chocolate icing over the top of the sponge cake, allowing it to run down the sides. Cool the cake for at least 2 hours before decorating with chocolate. Serves 10.
Bread & Butter Pudding
1/4 cup Amaretto
12 slices white bread, crusts
removed
1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter,
melted
9 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla paste
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar,
to dust top of pudding
3 oz. sliced almonds, lightly
toasted
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
Soak the raisins in the Amaretto and leave covered with plastic wrap at room temperature 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Cut 4 slices of the bread into 1/2" dice, and spread the diced bread on the bottom of a casserole dish. Sprinkle the raisins on top of the bread cubes, and pour any remaining liquid over the bread. Cut the remaining 8 slices of bread in half diagonally, and then cut each half slice in half diagonally to create 4 even triangles per slice. Dip the triangles into the butter, and arrange on top of the raisins, overlapping the triangles slightly. Pour any remaining butter over the top of the bread.
Whisk the yolks, vanilla paste, and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan over high heat, and pour the hot mix onto the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour the warm egg mixture over the bread, making sure all of the bread is coated, and set aside the coated bread for 20 minutes to allow the egg mixture to soak into the bread.
Place the casserole dish in a roasting tray filled with hot water halfway up the sides of the casserole dish, and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top with the filling just set.
Remove the dish from the oven and roasting tray, and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Broil or use a creme brulee torch to caramelize the sugar. Sprinkle with the toasted sliced almonds, and dust with powdered sugar. Cool slightly, and serve warm with a jug of cream and some fresh berries. Serves 6-8.
