Queen 'never had pizza' says her former chef Darren McGrady

Former staffers of the Royal Family tend to keep schtum on the private habits of their old employers. But what happens in Buckingham Palace doesn't always stay in Buckingham Palace. Case in point: The Queen's former chef Darren McGrady.

McGrady has previously shared a number of nuggets about the Queen's dining habits from his 15 years spent cooking for Her Majesty as well as Princess Diana and Princes’ William and Harry.

His latest? The Queen never had pizza. Speaking to US Food, McGrady observed: “In the years that I cooked at [Buckingham] palace, the Queen never had pizza."

But pizza was on the menu when he moved to Kensington Palace to cook for Harry, William and Diana. “I [made] pizza all the time for William. In my second cookbook, The Royal Chef at Home, there’s a chicken tikka masala pizza recipe because, [Prince William] loves Indian food. The pizza combined the two.”

McGrady previously told The Telegraph that the Queen might be passionate about many other things - horse racing and Corgis among them - but she is categorically "not a foodie."

He added that she follows a no starch diet when she's eating alone and leaves little notes on her desk about dishes she has liked and disliked.

According to McGrady she does have a soft spot for one food - chocolate, the darker the better.