Over the weekend, Roya Nikkhah at the Times of London got a special Buckingham Palace briefing. This is what passes for gossip in the Carolean court: King Charles plans to work on “food waste” on his 75th birthday in November. “Food waste” is the palace’s framing, when really, Charles is actually working on the wider issues of food insecurity, the cost of living crisis, poverty and the huge need for more food banks in the UK. The king just doesn’t want to make everything sound as dire as all of that, so the palace is saying “food waste,” like there’s such an British food abundance that people are regularly tossing out cakes after eating one slice.
The Times piece included these sentences with a straight face, as evidence of Charles’s refusal to waste food: “The King is meticulous about not wasting food in his own homes. He has tea and cake with his wife most days and insists on being served slices of the same cake, on successive days, until it is finished.” This is Charles’s attempt at seemingly relatable to the peasantry – he too eats the same cake on multiple days and refuses to throw out a cake after eating one slice, nor does he allow his servants to eat the same kingly cake. Even the Mail’s Ephraim Hardcastle column called bullsh-t:
King Charles’s war on food waste sits uneasily with his reputation as a gastronome. He enjoys excursions to the Ritz kitchens, sipping sauces and divining the ingredients by taste alone. He also enjoys entertaining, and pushing his chefs out of their comfort zones.
He recently advertised for a sous-chef trained in classical French cuisine to follow him around the country.
Promoting his Coronation Food Project, he let it be known that he is meticulous about food waste at home, with a flunkey revealing: ‘He has tea and cake with his wife most days and insists on being served slices of the same cake, on successive days, until it is finished.’
Perhaps wise to keep such fastidiousness within the confines of Clarence House!
While I think the cake story reeked of bullsh-t too – I doubt Charles even has cake with his tea – the Hardcastle column isn’t actually providing evidence to the contrary. You can enjoy food or be a “gastronome” and still not waste food. You can hire a sous chef to be your permanent traveling chef and still be conscious of food waste. Now, do I believe that Charles wastes a lot of food? Yes. Absolutely. The fact that the palace pushed the cake story tells you a lot about how out-of-touch Charles is with how his people actually live.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
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- HRH Duchess of Cornwall hosting a reception for the British Equestrian teams from 2020 Tokyo Olympic & Paralympic Games.,Image: 660835221, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: Steve Reigate / Avalon
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- Britain’s King Charles III reacts as he speaks with volunteers and members of staff as he has a cup of tea during a visit of London’s Community Kitchen facilities, in Harrow, Greater London, on December 15, 2022. – London’s Community Kitchen was founded back in 2014 and has become an important part of the community in and across suburban London, with its model now acting as the “HQ” hub for 21 boroughs. Working with the most vulnerable communities across London, it is supported by a network of volunteers. It distributes up to 60 tonnes of surplus food to local communities serving over 10,000 people every week from its hub in Harrow.,Image: 744816906, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: ISABEL INFANTES / Avalon
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- Picture: James Glossop/ The Times & Sunday Times POOL PHOTOGRAPH King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are seen during a visit to Malton, North Yorkshire, where they met food and drink producers with shops in Talbot Yard to hear about locally produced goods and visited a variety of local charitable organisations. Pictured during visit to Rare Bird Distillery, where the King sampled some gin 05/04/2023,Image: 767436467, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, Model Release: no, Credit line: James Glossop / Avalon
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- King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are seen during a visit to Malton, North Yorkshire, where they met food and drink producers with shops in Talbot Yard to hear about locally produced goods and visited a variety of local charitable organisations. 05/04/2023,Image: 767436489, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: NO UK USE FOR 48 HOURS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon sales@Avalon.red London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533 42 89, *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon
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- Picture: James Glossop/ The Times & Sunday Times POOL PHOTOGRAPH King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are seen during a visit to Malton, North Yorkshire, where they met food and drink producers with shops in Talbot Yard to hear about locally produced goods and visited a variety of local charitable organisations. Pictured during visit to Florian Poirot, master patissier 05/04/2023,Image: 767445646, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Glossop / Avalon
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- Picture: James Glossop/ The Times & Sunday Times POOL PHOTOGRAPH King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla are seen during a visit to Malton, North Yorkshire, where they met food and drink producers with shops in Talbot Yard to hear about locally produced goods and visited a variety of local charitable organisations. Pictured during visit to Bluebird Bakery 05/04/2023,Image: 767445668, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Credit line: James Glossop / Avalon
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- Britain’s Queen Camilla reacts as she looks at a cake depicting Britain’s King Charles III during a visit of the Sandringham Flower Show, in Sandrigham, north west England, on July 26, 2023.,Image: 792073974, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: *** NO UK USE FOR 48 HRS ***, Model Release: no, Credit line: DANIEL LEAL / Avalon
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- Berlin, GERMANY – Britain’s King Charles III and Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort visit a food market on Wittenbergplatz in Berlin, Germany. The King and The Queen Consort’s first state visit to Germany is taking place in Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg from Wednesday, March 29th, to Friday, March 31st, 2023. The King and Queen Consort’s state visit to France, which was scheduled for March 26th – 29th, has been postponed due to ongoing mass strikes and protests. Pictured: King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla BACKGRID USA 30 MARCH 2023 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- SIMONSBATH, ENGLAND – JULY 17: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall cut a specially commissioned cake inspired by the landscapes of the UKs National Parks during the National Parks Big Picnic celebration in honour of all 15 of the UKs National Parks, during an official visit to Devon & Cornwall on July 17, 2019 in Simonsbath, England. Held in Exmoor National Park the picnic marks 70 years since they were created by the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act.
Yeah, having a sous chef doesn’t mean you’re wasting food. Honestly if I had a chef at that level making my meals I’d probably waste a lot less food, because everything would be bought for a deliberate purpose (as opposed to my freewheeling it through the grocery store and randomly grabbing whatever off the shelves) and the portions cooked/served would be tailored to what I wanted to eat (presumably.)
But there is just a tone-deafness about Charles acting like eating his cake until its gone means he should be the poster boy for ending food waste.
And its funny that the Mail is calling him out for being so out of touch.
The only person in the world I have met who throws away cake is my health crazed friend who gave birthday cake 2 days then its in the bin. Even triple chocolate isn’t safe.
I hope he actually follows through opening and supplying these food banks because from everything I read they are desperately needed and things are not going to get any better anytime soon. Maybe he could use that £45M raise he received to keep the country’s food banks open and stocked.
I throw away cake and I love cake, lol. I just can’t figure out how to freeze it so it stays good when I defrost it.
The only cake that I can freeze and then eat is Smith Island Cake, which is the best cake anyway.
@Becks1 I find any sponge cake freezes well, but then I don’t bother defrosting it. I eat it frozen. If it is sponge it is easier to eat than ice-cream. Discovered this after being too desperate for cake to wait for it to defrost. Frozen cake is yummy.
The “eating the cake til it’s gone” story was spread about his mother. She was apparently fond of a certain chocolate cake, and it was said she had her chef pack up what was left and bring it whenever she moved between palaces. Sounds like BP are trying to show Chuck is like his mother.
I do think he actually means food waste.
I think he thinks that’s what the cost of living / people needing to subsidize their food intake from schools and soup kitchens and food banks.
The cake thing? That’s some weird ass Marie Antoinette thing. “I eat all my cakes and don’t demand new ones every day! I’m saving this country from itself one slice at a time!”
While people are choosing between rent and food or rent and gas for this car or food vs new school clothes. Like what the actual shit are you on about Charles. Address the real issues. Everyone already knows. The world won’t shatter if the King says – many of us are in the midst of a cost of living crisis. To help combat this I will be doing X. I am also proposing an initiative where twice a month – 15th and the 30th – I’m encouraging everyone who can afford to do so to look at my newly launched website which has all the food banks in the UK with a constantly updated list of things each food bank desperately need. I – along with my family – will be checking the lists and donating twice a month to different food banks in our area.
Kate can have a baby bank website so that those in the errrhhhllllyyyy yaaerrhhhsss don’t get left out.
William can have one for shelters.
Cams can have one for domestic violence shelters.
DO SOMETHING YOU HORRIBLE SHITS. ITS NOT THAT HARD!
Brilliantly said, Moxy!
Well said.
Here! Here! Be assured one of the huge reasons the Royals fight so hard to preserve their privileged lifestyle is gastronomy. At every meal they will be served whatever delicacies their hearts desire sourced from around the world by Royal suppliers like Fortnum and Mason whose former CEO, Ewan Venters, threw the famous pre-Christmas party for Camilla and her friends, the loathsome Jeremy Clarkson who wrote that he lies awake at night grinding his teeth wanting excrement thrown at a hated naked Meghan as she is paraded through the streets of Britain and Piers Morgan, the obnoxious Murdoch journalist who stalked off his TV programme “Good Morning Britain’ when asked to explain why he had gushed about Meghan’s “beauty” and “brains”, saying she was “perfect princess” material, and he was “not surprised” Harry had “fallen for her”. He also asked to be invited to their wedding but his tone had quickly changed when he wasn’t. But he will most surely still be invited to share the royal gastronomy with Camilla so long as he writes lies and insults about Harry and Meghan.
In a just world they should choke on their Dom Perignon and caviar.
I love getting a glimpse of Charles’ spoiled and entitled lifestyle. And I don’t think he’s equipped to speak about food waste when he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and travels with a personal soul chef. He’s so out of touch.
In his multiple homes, no less!
“I didn’t say, ‘let them eat cake!’ I said ‘I too eat cake every day,’ just like they do.
Now they won’t come for my head or my billions! I’m too relatable!”
Royalty, 18th c: “let them eat cake!”
Royalty, 21st c: “let me eat cake!”
I remember watching a documentary about the servants of the Palace and one man said that a 20 something Charles knocked a piece of paper into a garbage can and called for a footman to take it back out for him.
So completely out of touch and spoiled beyond belief!
Only a French sous chef not a French head chef cause we gotta keep costs down. What happened to slimming down the staff? Chuckles lives in his own head which is unfortunately up his own a**.
I can’t believe they went there! They actually called the palace source for the cake bs a flunkey. Slowly, the veil is slipping. At least some of the royal commentators are becoming awfully bored it seems.
let him eat cake!
this story is bollocks. he’s famous for wanting eggs cooked to perfection and if they don’t know when he’s coming home they just start poaching eggs and tossing them out until he gets there.
he needs to address food INSECURITY, but apparently hunger is “too political.”
so Charles conserves his cake, but what does he do for people in actual need? I’ll tell you: nothing. nothing at all.
Thank you! Was just about to mention the egg business! And eating a cake until it’s finished isn’t about food waste, that’s just what you do with cake! What does he think would signal waste or privilege?? Throwing it out after a couple slices?? This is what cling film, beeswax wraps and Tupperware are for. Then again I remember the story of Charles shrieking when he saw cling film for the first time so…
Or he could let the servants have some cake
Exactly!! I was just about to come here and comment about the egg thing.
It infuriates me the extent to which King Charles is all ‘do as is say, not as I do.’ The absolute hypocrisy of these people.
A related egg story that draws a stark comparison. A friend of mine works for a company that holds regular breakfast clubs for under privileged kids who don’t/can’t get breakfast at home. She was helping out at one and saw a little boy sitting motionless in front of a boiled egg. When she asked him why he wasn’t eating it he replied that he didn’t know what it was. He had never seen an egg before.
These are your subjects, Charles. Children whose food options are so limited by varying factors that they don’t know what an egg is.
@ The Hench: good lord, that story just broke my heart. Having observed these pampered clowns for a long time, I must say their tone deaf, hypocritical, ignorant preaching of serious issues has gone from mildly amusing to rage-inducing every time they open their damn mouths.
sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2006/sep/23/monarchy.topstories3
https://www.geo.tv/latest/310921-prince-charles-slammed-for-unbelievably-wasteful-food-requirements-after-hunting
‘“ That family” is just about as irrelevant as they come. To co-sign these type of pieces highlight just how irrelevant]t and out of touch they are. A food crisis in your country and you okay pieces about a Sous Chief traveling with you. Get out of here with this nonsense. The UK has the kind of monarchy they deserve.
While I agree they are totally irrelevant and need to go, I think it’s kind of weird to slam their country for having a monarchy. It’s not like people suddenly agreed to it. Furthermore, I would not want people to say the US “deserved” Trump when millions of people voted against him.
I’d love to know how people whose houses he visits deal with Charles bringing his own food. Does his chef cook enough for the whole house? Are two separate seatings held at every mealtime so he can eat and then the residents can eat? Or is there one meal when people are eating totally separate dishes? Basically, it seems logical to assume there’s foot waste associated with him doing this.
Maybe he just travels to places where KC is staying in his own private residence. It would be a wonder if he shared with anyone much. It might be like after QE died in Scotland when he and PW went off to eat at Birkhall away from everyone else.
I ended up looking it up and saw that he insists on eating separately—and whatever time he wants—when he’s staying at someone else’s place/estate. Yikes.
That’s funny. The people he is staying with may be fine with not seeing him much and having to look at him across the table anyway. But wouldn’t it be tempting to go in and sit down at the table just to annoy him?
Meanwhile a tory idiot told parents who cannot feed their children to “f*ck off” and their prime minister didn’t say it was a bad thing to say (twice).
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/18/tory-candidate-andrew-cooper-foulmouthed-outburst-at-jobless-parents
Bollocks indeed. The problem is *NOT* food waste, actually, It’s that rich people have too much food while other people-kids, some of them-are GOING HUNGRY.
Instead of wasting time with this absurd campaign, why not support the orgs that are working to get more food to people who need it! stop bragging about how you don’t toss a friggin’ breadcrust and focus on little kids who go to bed without getting any supper.
What happens to all the boiled eggs that gets boiled for him in the mornings? It’s been reported that his chef starts boiling eggs for him in anticipation of him waking up ready for breakfast and they just keep on boiling them until he’s ready to eat. How f-ed up is that? Talk about waste!!!
I doubt very much that they’d be used to make egg salad sandwiches for the staff or a school lunch for KIDS WHO MAY NOT HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT. I sure hope someone from KFC’s crack PR team is reading CB because this is utterly unconscionable.
I see “Food Waste” and think Meghan/Toronto Suits.
The cake story was ridiculous and for no one in the Palace or Roya Nikkhah herself to not realise that just shows how out of touch the Royal press and the Palace are.
Btw, biodiesel is made from food waste and I think (sorry, can’t quickly find it) that KC was pleased that (one of?) his cars ran on biodiesel. The issue with biodiesel is of course that it keeps food from people who need it most. KC really needs to get an issue more attuned to his strengths—this is emphasizing what a hypocrite he is.
my friends who use biodiesel make it out of discarded fry oil from restaurants, which is not something anyone can eat.
food waste is a massive issue (and some restaurants do donate to food banks). biodiesel is not the problem.
He is a ridiculous person — a caricature of a human being.
I’m still stuck on Charles having to pass his plans through the government and Labour first. I wonder if they had something to say about “food waste” vs “food insecurity.” Food waste puts the responsibility on the user – food insecurity puts the responsibility on the government.
This.