Former royal chef Darren McGrady has revealed his secret to cooking the perfect fried egg: never use margarine. McGrady, who served Queen Elizabeth II, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Princes William and Harry for 15 years, also cooked for US Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Why Margarine Is a No-Go
In an interview with Smooth Spins Casino, McGrady stated: "Fried eggs, obviously, you need to start with beautiful, organic eggs, not the battery eggs. Then, it's what are we going to fry in? Some would say margarine - never, ever, ever use margarine." He added: "Never cook anything in margarine; in fact, ban it from the kitchen. Even flies don't like margarine; it's nasty."
McGrady recommends butter or ghee (clarified butter) as the best cooking medium. He advises: "When you're using butter, use a good butter that has a high fat content and not so much liquid in there, so it doesn't start spitting at you. Get the butter hot but not brown, then start cooking the egg."
The Cooking Technique
For the perfect fried egg, McGrady suggests: "Don't touch it; let it sit there until the base cooks. Then you can baste it using a spatula or flip it over, which is called over-easy." If butter is not available, he recommends olive oil or avocado oil, but warns against canola and seed oils, calling them "not healthy."
McGrady emphasized starting with high-quality ingredients: "You need to start with beautiful, organic eggs, not the battery eggs."
Princess Anne's Wit
Last year, McGrady recalled a humorous encounter with Princess Anne. Speaking to Heart Bingo, he said: "I adore Princess Royal, I think she's fantastic. She has Prince Philip's sense of humour." He described a moment after a flight to Balmoral: "There was an RAF gentleman greeting her. He said good afternoon and asked how the flight was. She was having none of it. She just said: 'Have you ever flown before?' He replied: 'Well, yes, your Royal Highness', and she just replied 'well, it was just like that'."
