King puts local fare top of menu at garden parties

Charles demands that ingredients on menu must be sourced from UK, seasonal and organic

THE King has ordered a garden party menu shake-up, insisting that all ingredients are seasonal, locally produced and organic.

The pastry chef responsible for producing thousands of cakes for the first Buckingham Palace garden parties of the new reign revealed he had been given a “clear brief ” that puts a greater focus on sourcing as much as possible from the UK.

Didier Merveilleux, whose south London-based company Didier’s Patisserie was awarded a Royal Warrant by Elizabeth II in 2013, has produced the pastries popular with garden party guests for many years.

“We’ve always made a great effort in sourcing products, our raw material in the UK, and I think we’re doing pretty well,” he said. “I’m sure we’ve shown the King we can probably push the boundaries.”

Mr Merveilleux said he had recently received instructions from Buckingham Palace about the menu for this year’s garden parties – the first of which takes place today – with the focus on ensuring that locally produced, seasonal products were used as much as possible.

“With garden parties, it’s always been the case a little bit,” he said. “But we can see that with Charles, it’s going to take a greater impact and greater dimension and that’s fantastic.”

He said the palace had “insisted” on both seasonal ingredients and those sourced in the UK. The King has long been a passionate advocate of using organic, homegrown produce, championing the benefits long before it was fashionable.

In recent years, he has worked hard to turn the 2,000-acre Sandringham estate in Norfolk fully organic, while his Duchy originals range of more than 300 sustainably produced products, launched in 1992, has proved popular and is now one of the oldest organic brands on the market.

One notable change to the traditional garden party menu this year is the inclusion of a new apricot and lavender tart that replaces an old favourite, the passionfruit tart. “It’s a beautiful product with fresh lavender seeds on top,” Mr Merveilleux said.

Other sweet staples will remain the same as in recent years; raspberry shortbread, chocolate croustillant, Victoria sponge and coffee eclairs. Mr Merveilleux added that one of the key aims was to create “distinctive flavours”.

“That is really very much the theme of the garden parties,” he said

“It’s got to have distinctive flavours as well as being elegant and classic.

“We wouldn’t actually do anything too adventurous. Even to have the lavender is a big step.”

He added: “We do everything from scratch at Didiers, we don’t actually buy any of the basics, like the choux pastries. It’s made here and that is something that the palace will insist on.

“I think this is why we’ve been so popular with the palace, because they recognise that we actually master all our recipes and it’s done in house.”

Mr Merveilleux has seen many garden parties and appreciates the unique atmosphere as guests make the most of what is usually a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “They’re looking for a superb cucumber sandwich, a great cup of tea and beautiful scones,” he said.