Queen of the kitchen

As the royal wedding approaches, former royal chef Carolyn Robb reveals culinary secrets from Kensington Palace and ponders the happy couple’s wedding menu

Once upon a time, a little girl stood outside Buckingham Palace and whispered to her father that one day she would like to be a chef for the Queen. And like all the best fairy stories, her wish was granted.

Carolyn Robb grew up to become the youngest and first female personal chef to Prince Charles and Princess Diana, living at Kensington Palace and travelling the world with the royals for more than a decade.

The South African-born chef has loved cooking since she was knee-high to a grasshopper.

“I absolutely adored being at my mother’s side in the kitchen – it’s one of my earliest memories,” she smiles.

“My mother was a fantastic cook and my father an incredible gardener, so we grew up eating wonderful home-cooked family meals from gorgeous homegrown produce.

“She taught me so much that I still carry with me every day, but particularly the importance of being neat, tidy and organised in the way that you work in the kitchen.

“Also, ‘waste not, want not’ – creating something delicious from simple ingredients is such a wonderful skill to have.”

After studying languages at university, Carolyn travelled to Switzerland to spend a winter season working in a ski resort hotel. The experience of Swiss hospitality inspired her to seriously pursue a career in food and it was while she was studying for her Cordon Bleu diploma at the Tante Marie Culinary Academy (the UK’S oldest independent cookery school) that she was selected to go for a job interview at Kensington Palace.

“I got the job as chef to TRH The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the most wonderful family,” she says. “After two years I was offered a position with TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince William and Prince Harry.”

As well as cooking everyday meals for the family, catering for entertaining and large events and feeding a large team of staff, Carolyn also travelled a lot, both within the UK – from Kensington Palace to Highgrove, Sandringham, Balmoral and Wales – and state visits abroad.

“It was a big commitment doing the job, with long days and not always regular time off but you could not ask for more amazing employers and it was a really good team of people to work with,” she enthuses.

“I am so incredibly fortunate to have had such a happy and privileged career as a chef and I loved every minute of it – even the long, unsociable hours never dented my enthusiasm and passion for cooking.”

Today Carolyn is a highly-respected food writer, food consultant and a busy mum to two little girls. With clients on both sides of the Atlantic, she’s also working on several book and product development projects.

Her most recent book The Royal Touch: Simply Stunning Home Cooking from a Former Royal Chef is packed with her favourite recipes of her happiest

I am so incredibly fortunate to have had such a happy and privileged career as a chef and I loved every minute of it