'I made the Queen's mince pies - royals eat them in a unique way' says former chef

Members of the Royal Family are renowned for their unique festive traditions. From allegedly banning the game Monopoly after the competition became too "vicious" to choosing to open presents on Christmas Eve in line with the family's German roots, there's a whole host of quirks.

But when it comes to what is served for the Christmas meal, the family couldn’t be more traditional. A former royal chef even went as far as to call the family's festive meal choices "boring". But while they clearly love the classics, they do put their own spin on the recipe. Speaking to his 327k subscribers on his YouTube channel, ex-royal chef Darren McGrady shared details about how the royals spend the big day and the twist which is put on their mince pies.

Former royal chef Darren often shares little glints into what it was like working for the late Queen and other members of the family at royal residences such as Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace for 15 years.

READ MORE: Fix tired and dull party season skin in three minutes with these LED beauty patches

READ MORE: Where are the stars of Love Actually now? From family tragedy to X Factor stint

Mr McGrady, who now lives in Texas, has been using his YouTube channel to reveal the family's favourite foods and share some of his favourite stories. In a video from December 2022, McGrady revealed just how the family like to eat their mince pies during the festive season.

After removing his mince pies from the oven, the chef said: "You've got to let them go completely cold. I know, it's hard - they smell gorgeous but hide them away somewhere, go for a walk.

"Once they're cold, then you can run a knife around the edges and carefully lift them out onto a serving tray. Later in the day, around lunchtime, once the entrée had gone into the dining room, then you could put the pies back in the oven, and we had to do that to get them really, really hot.

"You saw earlier when I made them that I didn't put any egg on the lids because I didn't want them to stick to the mince pies. We take the brandy butter (frozen swirls of butter, icing sugar and brandy) and then just lift the lid and put some brandy butter into each one."

He continued: "And by the time they got into the royal dining room, oh my goodness, they tasted absolutely gorgeous. But before they went into the dining room, a little powdered sugar on the top.

"We had to be careful how much powdered sugar we put on top of the pies. I remember one Sandringham Christmas, Prince Philip nearly choking because he inhaled the powdered sugar off the top of the mince pie."

As for what was on the rest of the menu, McGrady previously told HELLO!: "It was the same meal every year. They're actually boring when it comes to festivities. They didn't do hams or anything, just traditional turkeys. We did three turkeys for the Queen and her family in the royal dining room, one for the children's nursery and then more for the 100 or so staff, so everyone had a Christmas lunch."

McGrady went on to add: “The turkey is served with mashed and roast potatoes, chestnut or sage and onion stuffing, cranberry sauce and bread sauce. Vegetables include brussels sprouts, carrots and roast parsnips.” As for pudding, a traditional homemade Christmas pudding is served after the main meal and is “decorated in holly, doused in brandy, and the palace steward would carry it, flaming, into the royal dining room,” says McGrady.

A festive tipple is a must on the big day, so what was the late Queen’s drink of choice? According to McGrady the Queen always chose to enjoy a classic gin and dubonnet cocktail before she sat down to begin her meal. The former chef adds that the monarch would also enjoy a glass of the sweet and aromatic German white wine Gewürztraminer with her food.

While the late Queen was also understood to have enjoyed everything from a martini to a refreshing gin and Dubonnet, King Charles' tastes are quite different. The King is said to be fond of a crisp gin and tonic when he travels abroad or a Scotch whiskey.