Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Chef for Queen Elizabeth?
Ever want to cook for a Queen? You’re in luck—Queen Elizabeth and Buckingham Palace are hiring.
The royal family recently put up a job posting for a Demi Chef de Partie, or line cook. The position comes with live-in accommodation (perhaps in one of the palace’s 188 staff bedrooms), and yes, meals are provided. “You’ll prepare diverse menus for a wide range of events, developing new skills that will help you to take the next step in your career,” reads the job description.
And there’s travel involved! You won’t just be sharpening your knives in London—the role “will involve traveling to other Royal residences,” although the specific ones aren’t listed. Perhaps that will mean a sojourn or two to Windsor Castle, or maybe Charles and Camilla will need help hosting at Clarence House?
As you can imagine, any potential candidate must be royally up to snuff: “You’ll work hands-on to deliver food to the highest standards,” the posting reads. “As you’d expect, standards are exceptionally high here, and every day is busy, so you’ll need to be an ambitious and qualified chef.”
You’ll have your hands (and pots and pans) full, that’s for sure. According to the monarchy’s website, Buckingham Palace alone has 50,000 guests for state dinners, receptions, and garden parties. And at a Garden Party, 27,000 cups of tea, 20,000 sandwiches, and 20,000 slices of cake are served. That’s a lot of coronation chicken.
For a State Banquet, a formal dinner hosted by the Queen for another head of state, there’s a need to prepare sophisticated and elevated cuisine. Take this menu from an October 2014 affair in honor of the Singaporean president, which listed fillets of Dover sole filled with salmon mousse on a bed of leeks with a white wine cream sauce, poached supreme of Sandringham Estate pheasant with truffles, as well as chocolate and praline ice cream bombes.
And if you have to cook for the Queen herself? Well, luckily she seems like a relatively simple eater: According to a former palace chef, she likes grilled or poached fish with vegetables.
Originally Appeared on Vogue
