Jamie Oliver’s offer to cater royal wedding was ignored, chef claims
Jamie Oliver’s offer to cater Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding was ignored by the royal family, the chef has claimed.
Oliver spoke about the nuptials while appearing on Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch alongside Emilia Fox, Miles Jupp and Kellie Bright on 30 December.
After discussing whether or not anyone at the table had been invited to the royal occasion, none of whom had, the restaurateur revealed that he had put himself forward to curate an eclectic menu for the wedding reception.
“I did actually write and say if they want the food sorted I would bring the best of British and American chefs together to do the catering,” he said.
“I didn’t get a reply. That is a true story,” he added, much to everyone else’s amusement.
Oliver was then asked whether his requested monetary charge for the job had been too steep.
“No, I would’ve done it for free!” he said.
“I like a bit of a moment. I would’ve got all the American gang over, we’ve got all the British dudes.
“It would’ve been the best brigade of kitchen ever.”
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Between 2010 and 2011, American television network ABC broadcast two seasons of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, a programme that showed Oliver attempting to promote healthy eating habits across the United States.
The chef also released a recipe book called Jamie's America, which contains classic American recipes from areas including Louisiana, Georgia and Arizona.
Following on from the royal wedding ceremony on 19 May, it was revealed that the 600 guests who attended the lunchtime reception hosted by the Queen at St George's Hall in Windsor Castle were treated to a variety of sweet and savoury canapés.
These included delicacies such as Scottish langoustines, grilled English asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian ham and croquette of confit Windsor lamb.
The guests were then served an array of bowl food, with choices including a pea and mint risotto, chicken fricassee and a slow-roasted pork belly.
The royal couple's lemon and elderflower wedding cake was inspired by spring and created by east London baker Claire Ptak.
The Duchess of Sussex has demonstrated her penchant for cooking for years, having shared many nutritious recipes on her former lifestyle website The Tig.
For her first solo project as a member of the royal family, the duchess helped to create the Together cookbook, the sales of which are helping to support the community affected by the Grenfell Tower Fire.
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For months the duchess visited the Hubb Community Kitchen in west London in secret, and became close acquaintances with the women using the kitchen to serve food to their community.
“Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy,” she wrote in the book's foreword.
“In its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food, through crisis or joy - something we can all relate to.”
