Chef Visen Anenden, who served as head chef to King Charles, has shared insights into the monarch's personality and culinary preferences ahead of his appearance in the Channel 5 documentary Buckingham Palace: A Year in the Life.
Speaking exclusively to the Express, Chef Visen described his time cooking for the then-Prince of Wales and Queen Camilla as a "fantastic" and "wonderful experience." He praised Charles for genuinely practising what he preached regarding sustainability and ethical sourcing.
Favourite meals and royal protocol
Chef Visen revealed that the King's favourite foods included "grouse, partridge, venison, mutton, and hogget," adding, "I would say without a doubt his favourite meals were game birds."
However, the 77-year-old monarch reportedly disliked garlic. "We can't use garlic in the household. I think that's more to do with the Royal protocol of the smell of it, but that would be the only request," Chef Visen explained.
He also noted the King's preference for simplicity, saying, "He likes simplicity, and so he would be more than happy if he had to, to eat like eggs every day or omelettes and scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and stuff like that."
A caring employer
The chef shared a personal story illustrating the King's kindness, recalling, "I always remember the story, my grandma was bedridden, ill in hospital on a deathbed, and he wrote a letter to her and sent her flowers."
Chef Visen also described Charles as "a very nice man" who "actually took care of his staff, his personal staff and around him extremely well." He added that both Charles and Queen Camilla were "very appreciative" of the daily communication and menu planning.
The documentary, which also features Sir Trevor McDonald, Amy Dowden, Fred Sirieix and Pam Ayres, airs Saturday 10 October at 8:35pm on C5, with all episodes available to stream on C5.
