A former royal chef has revealed that King Charles surprised staff with his hands-on approach to teaching, describing the monarch as a “phenomenal teacher” who transformed his understanding of fresh produce.
Visen Anenden, who served as Head Chef for King Charles and Queen Camilla for nine and a half years from the early 2000s, said working for the royal household was a unique experience. He credited the King, known for his passion for organic food and heritage produce, with personally educating the kitchen team.
‘Never seen anything like it’
Speaking on behalf of Heart Bingo Online, Mr Anenden said: “You will never be able to work like that again. In the restaurant world, you do get fresh produce every now and again, but once you get fresh produce literally less than a mile from where you’re working, and something is pulled straight out of the ground, it’s on another level.”
He added: “That’s freshness within itself. Just the most simple things, like a carrot, potato or asparagus, are just on a different level.”
Reflecting on his early days, Mr Anenden revealed: “When I first started there, I’d never seen anything like it before. It was an amazing learning curve for me as a chef. You actually realise what heritage produce is, what seasonality is, and what produce sourced locally is.”
A ‘phenomenal teacher’
He highlighted the King’s direct involvement: “Most importantly, you had the man himself, King Charles, who was a phenomenal teacher, teaching the chefs what fresh produce is all about and understanding how it’s executed.”
Mr Anenden also shared a glimpse into royal celebrations, recalling Charles’s 60th birthday. He said: “I did Charles’s 60th, which was huge and a massive deal. The event for that was phenomenal, and the organisation that went into it. Everything was sourced from the estate. All the food is really, it’s all off the estate, and nothing is brought in. It’s all seasonal, too.”
