Palace defends guest chef Raymond Blanc’s role as celebration of UK-France
ties
Buckingham Palace has subtly responded to criticism over King Charles III’s
decision to include a guest French chef in last week’s State Banquet for
French President Emmanuel Macron—a move that one former royal insider had
branded a “slap in the face” to the palace’s in-house chefs.
The controversy began after celebrated French chef Raymond Blanc was invited
to collaborate with the Palace kitchen staff for the July 9 event at Windsor
Castle. While the gesture was intended to honour Anglo-French friendship, it
drew criticism from former royal chef Darren McGrady, who claimed the decision
was “a huge slap in the face to the palace royal chefs,” expressing concern
that the regular staff were being overshadowed.
In response, Buckingham Palace shared a behind-the-scenes video on its
official Instagram account, showing Blanc preparing parts of the menu and
explaining his personal connection to the event.
“Presently I’m in this extraordinary place which is called Windsor Castle,
which is dreamlike,” Blanc says in the clip. “We’re about to cook a feast fit
for a king celebrating a very special moment of the year.”
He added: “My food is never with guilt; my food is about purity, it’s about
close to home, it’s about the organic values as well. And I know our King is
the same with the same values. I admire him enormously, and I hope he will
love this dish.”
The video’s caption made it clear that Blanc worked alongside the palace
chefs, stating:
“In the spirit of UK-France collaboration, Raymond Blanc was invited to work
with Palace chefs to create the first course and dessert.”
Blanc himself later addressed the backlash, telling The Daily Mail, “We all
have an opinion—and I’ve got a different one. I like to bring people
together.” In a show of deference to the royal team, he left the main course
entirely in the hands of Mark Flanagan, the Royal Household’s head chef.
The Palace’s quiet but firm response appears to reframe the collaboration as a
symbolic gesture of diplomacy and shared values, rather than a slight to the
royal kitchen—a message that aligns with King Charles’s long-standing
commitment to sustainability, tradition, and cross-cultural celebration.
