Insiders reveal the food King Charles has BANNED from French state visit banquet – and the reasons why (but mushrooms are on the menu because they remind him of Queen Elizabeth II)
- Charles provided a strict list of culinary demands for meal at Palace of Versailles
Three of the finest foie gras chefs in France will be banned from using the fattened duck delicacy when they cook for King Charles and Queen Camilla at a lavish banquet tonight.
It follows Charles providing a strict list of culinary demands for the meal at the Palace of Versailles on Wednesday evening.
Asparagus – which was on the menu in March before the Royal trip was postponed because of widespread rioting across France – has also been ruled out, because it is no longer in season.
But there will be plenty of mushrooms, which are a favourite of both Charles and Camille, as they ‘remind them of the late Queen, Elizabeth II’, according to a French government source.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will enjoy a lavish banquet tonight in Paris
This picture taken on September 19, 2023, shows French and British national flags in front of the Hotel des Invalides in central Paris, as part of preparations for the upcoming visit of Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla in France
Chef Ann-Sophie Pic (pictured) holds ten Michelin stars
Michelin-starred kitchen maestros Yannick Alléno, Anne-Sophie Pic and Pierre Hermé have finalised a menu that was sent to London for approval.
All are well known for using foie gras in their cooking, with pastry chef Mr Hermé even using it in his chocolate macaroons.
But the source said: ‘The King has banned foie gras from his residences in Britain, so there was no possibility of him eating it in France.
‘He doesn’t want asparagus that is out of season either, because shipping it in is environmentally damaging, but there will be a mushroom gratin, which was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth.
‘We understand that Charles was out foraging for mushrooms just before his mother’s death in Scotland’.
Foie gras is considered particularly cruel because it is made by force feeding ducks or geese until their livers become swollen.
French chef Pierre Hermé
French chef Yannick Alléno
A cyclist passes in front of the British embassy on the eve of the visit of the King and Queen of England on September 19, 2023 in Paris, France
Instead, the Le Menu at Versailles will be:
Starter: Blue lobster and pot crab with a veil of fresh almonds and peppermint (Created by Anne-Sophie Pic, the only French chef with three Michelin stars)
Main Course: Bresse chicken with corn and a porcini mushroom gratin
(Cooked by Yannick Alléno)
Cheese: 30-month old Comté, Stilchelton English blue
Desert: Isfahan Persian macaroon
(Pierre Hermé’s signature pudding inspired by the ancient city in Iran, and containing rose water, raspberries, and lychees.)
Wines costing more than £400 a bottle will also be on the menu at Versailles.
Pol Roger cuvée Winston Churchill 2013 Champagne is listed at £500+ a magnum. The Bâtard Montrachet grand cru 2018 stands at £430+, and the Château Mouton Rothschild 2004 at £400+.
Luxuries being prepared for the King that infuriated anti-government protesters in France back in March also include bottles of wine worth hundreds of pounds each.
All of the food will be eaten in the fabled Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, where the late Queen was received during her first State Visit to France in 1957.
Some 150 guests have been invited this time, including star actresses Charlotte Rampling, Kristin Scott Thomas and Catherine Deneuve.
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