Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee recipe book: embassy dishes

The recipe book of the Platinum Jubilee

When Queen Elizabeth II came to the throne seventy years ago, the English gastronomic scene was quite bare. Many foods were still rationed and the small selection of ingredients was a major challenge for even the most creative cooks. The typical dishes of other countries were mostly unknown, olive oil was sold in small bottles mainly for medical use and street food par excellence was fish and chips. Today's times have changed, but the pleasure of sitting at the table and sharing a meal has remained the same as always: even during Royal visits, in fact, food plays a leading role. And so it will be during the celebrations of the Platinum Jubilee, which will begin next June 5 to last then throughout the month. On the occasion of the anniversary, Jon Croft Editions has published an official recipe book: The Platinum Jubilee Cookbook, which collects a series of recipes of British embassies and diplomats around the world, "some truly local, others proudly British, still others representing the combination of British and other influences, often with special effects," as commented by Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who penned the preface.

Recipes from the embassies

Ameer Kotecha, diplomat at the service of the queen and gastronomic writer, who from 2018 to 2020 also managed a pop-up restaurant in London, wrote the book, rich in precious contents, historical references and peculiar anecdotes. It was he who had the intuition to dedicate a pudding to Her Majesty in early 2021, becoming co-founder of the Platinum Pudding Competition, the competition between pastry chefs to select the dessert for the 70 years of the queen’s reign. Many quotes, photographs, stories of banquets at the palace and around the world, but also a great focus on the typical products of the country, those who have made the history of the nation's gastronomy, earning the Royal Warrant, given by the royal family to a business that has distinguished itself for the careful work and the quality of ingredients. A volume that tells the tastes and customs of political dinners, good manners and protocol: a portrait of international high society, which focuses on the many differences between guests of the various countries, the local variations and the tributes chosen by the local chefs. "What emerges from these 70 recipes provided by Her Majesty’s ambassadors and high commissioners," the author explains, "is a snapshot of the service conducted overseas by the monarch who has travelled the most in history."

Food as a diplomatic tool

The recipes gathered in the book are many and all different, "some served to the Queen or other members of the royal family during visits abroad, others regularly present at the celebrations for Her Majesty’s birthday." What is most surprising, however, is the attention that the Royal Family has always given to British producers, supporting the most representative companies, from large and iconic to smaller local realities. "Defending the best productions in the UK is a must for British embassies, to promote our history, culture and identity." The book thus offers "a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the work of the Queen’s representatives and the important role that food plays." The real beauty of the table? "It can break down barriers and build bridges." Not only that: during the presentation speech of the US State Department’s Diplomatic Culinary Partnership in 2012, Hilary Clinton stated that "food is the oldest diplomatic tool." The art of diplomacy has always revolved around cooking, as well as entertainment, "in modern times increasingly relevant."

Protocol and Royal menus

So, page after page, we discover how food has shaped the history of international politics over the years. Of course, by the proper rules: at Buckingham Palace, for example, official banquets include four courses, starting with a soup and then a plate of fish (but not shellfish or crustaceans!), and one of meat, usually lamb or chicken breast. Choices dictated not by pomp or the desire to perform, but by the pure respect of others, the basis of the true bon ton: beef and pork are prohibited in many religions and shellfish can often cause allergic reactions, so better avoid accidents. There are also vegetable side dishes and dessert, sometimes followed by a selection of cheeses. An often predictable menu, but no wonder: as foreign affairs expert Mary Dejevsky claims, "If you think that diplomat dinner are always tasteless and also a bit boring, ask yourself what remains on the plate after the most cautious guest has cut beef and pork, shelled shellfish and peeled cheese." Currently, there is also a focus on vegetable dishes, "to respond to the climate emergency." In 2021, for example, the Belgian ambassador Martin Shearman held a vegan and environmentally friendly lunch in his residence with the Minister of the Environment, young activists, academics and representatives of NGOs.

Products promoted by the Queen

But what are the Royal Family-favourite products? Frank Cooper jam, for example, was created for the first time in 1874 by Sarah-Jane Cooper, wife of the Oxford shopkeeper who gives his name to the brand. A recipe inspired by her mother, characterised by the presence of many chunks of fruit, which over the years has earned several famous admirers, such as explorer Robert Falcon Scott, who took it to Antarctica during the expedition to the South Pole, where a jar was found many years later, buried in ice. It is also present in the famous movie "007 from Russia with Love", but you know, James Bond is first of all a fan of Martinis, so bartender Salvatore Calabrese invented at The Library Bar of The Lanesborough in London a combination of the two products, the Breakfast Martini. Another specialty worth mentioning, the PG Tips tea: created in 1869 in Arthur Brooke’s tea shop in Manchester, the famous British brand is so called by the abbreviation of Pre-Gest-Tea, nickname that Mr Brooke had given to the product because he believed that it could prepare the body for digestion; the word tips refers instead to the fact that only the most valuable tea leaves are used, those on top.

The recipe of lemon trifle and amaretto biscuits

The recipes of the book are many, but on the occasion of the Platinum Jubilee we're sharing the official pudding of the celebrations, a dessert created by the pastry winner of the competition, Jemma Melvin.