Chef Darren McGrady dishes about the Royals

Chef Darren McGrady, during visit to Knoxville, signs his cookbook, Eating Royally.

Chef Darren McGrady was in town last weekend bringing tales of his 11 years in service to Buckingham Palace and, more interestingly, his four years in service to Princess Diana after her divorce. During his whirlwind visit from Dallas, where he lives now and is a personal chef to a wealthy philanthropist, McGrady also supervised students from UT and Pellissippi State preparing a fund-raising dinner and he promoted his book, Eating Royally.

McGrady’s visit was the brainchild of Robert Gibbs, director of UT’s  Conferences and Non-Credit Programs. It was part of last weekend’s Tennessee Food and Wine Festival shepherded by Carol Costello, a professor in  UT’s Department of Retail, Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Those of us who attended the dinner at UT Conference Center Saturday night had the double benefit of an entertaining evening AND being able to avoid watching the UT-Alabama football game with its disastrous result.

Here are some of the royal  tidbits Chef McGrady shared over the “Fit for Royalty” dinner:

• He showed a slide of a jewel-encrusted fruit dish the Palace was given by a visiting diplomat. He said it was valued at $800,000. What did the diplomat get as a return gift? An autographed photo of the Queen and Prince Philip.
• Princess Diana didn’t like the big diplomatic receptions for 800 to 1,000 people. At one, she was cornered in a conversation with a man and she mentioned that she really liked mangoes. The following week, a case of mangoes was delivered to the royal kitchen. Chef made all kinds of mango dishes. But the following week, another case was delivered. This went on for six weeks! Said Diana: “I wish I had told him I liked diamonds!”
• The Queen holds five garden parties every year. Each has more than 6,000 guests.
• Why does the Queen always carry a purse, even to a party in her own yard? Well, McGrady said, she normally carries the purse on her left arm. When she transfers the purse to her right arm, it is a signal to her lady-in-waiting to come rescue her from the conversation she currently is in. It means she is ready to move on. (What a great idea!)
• Wherever the Queen is anywhere in the world, she always stops for afternoon tea.
• The Queen does not eat scones. She crumbles them up and feeds them to her beloved corgis. Still, the standing order is to serve her scones and to alternate plain scones one day and scones with raisins the next. Why? That way she can be sure the corgis get fresh scones!
• All the Royals get the same cake on their birthdays: a chocolate sponge cake with just “Happy Birthday” written on it. It’s never personalized with the recipient’s name.
• Princess Diana was famous for the notes she often wrote to people and McGrady said he treasures those she wrote to him over the years. One thing he noticed? “Even royal princesses steal note paper from hotels!”
• Diana loved stuffed bell peppers and lobster. But her favorite thing of all was bread-and-butter pudding, which we were served Saturday night. And she always talked about moving to America one day.
• In Buckingham Palace, the kitchen is located a mile and a quarter from the dining room. So, if Prince William wanted a cookie, it was a process involving a lot of people to get the cookie to him. Chef McGrady much preferred Sandringham House, where Princess Diana and her children moved after the separation from Charles. There, if William wanted a cookie, he could go into the kitchen himself and get it.

Here are some scenes from Saturday night.

From left, Craig Shelton, Jennifer Holder, Mary Ellen and Dr. Steve Brewington during the reception prior to the Fit For Royalty Dinner Saturday.

Chef Darren McGrady introduced the courses, showed pictures and shared stories throughout the evening.

The salad featured mixed greens, roasted beets, caramelized walnuts and goat cheese. It was delicious paired with Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

From left, Dennis Perkins, Gay Lyons and Rose Kennedy chatted between courses.

Karen Simsen and Bob Rider

Salmon and sole en croute with a dill cream sauce was served with Robert Mondavi Napa Pinot Noir.

Here's what the inside of that looked like. It was very good.

Ken and Tammy Knight

Lisa and Nick McBride

The bread was focaccia. This was a rich meal.

Brian Petty and Shera Swanson

Beef tenderloin with rosemary bell pepper sauce served with sage derby Dauphinoise potatoes. Rich, rich, rich.

At the Pellissippi State table are, seated, Tom and Cheri Gaddis, and standing, from left, President Anthony Wise and his wife, Lynn, and Holly Knowling.

Here is that fantastic bread-and-butter pudding. It was unbelievable. And so were the amounts of butter and cream it contained!

Our table mates Michelle Park of Miller Coors and Kevin Antoine of E.W. Scripps enjoying the dessert.

Carol Costello introduced all the students who had been involved from both schools.

Here they are.

Chef Tyler White of the UT Culinary Institute, left, took a bow with Chef McGrady. White was in charge of the students' participation.

As in Europe, the meal ended with a cheese course. This one was paired with Arrington Vineyards 2008 KB 308 Cabernet Sauvignon, which won Best in Show in the recent Wines of the South competition.

Gay Lyons appreciated it.

In case you missed it, here is News Sentinel Food Editor Mary Constantine’s interview with Chef McGrady: click here.