Gordon Ramsay Says His ‘Best Meal’ Was the One He Cooked for Princess Diana
Gordon Ramsay Calls Princess Diana “One of the Most Gracious Members of the Royal Family I’ve Ever Met”
Gordon Ramsay has cooked for many celebrities, but Princess Diana was the best.
The Michelin-starred chef and restaurateur, 54, is currently starring in Gordon, Gino & Fred Go Greek, a British TV documentary in which Ramsay explores the culinary delights of the Greek islands alongside fellow foodies Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix.
And in Monday’s episode of the ITV show, Ramsay praised the late royal, according to The Independent — calling the meal he cooked for “Lady Di” in the 1990s at the Aubergine restaurant in Chelsea “the best meal” he ever cooked.
So what did Ramsay cook for her? He told D’Acampo that the starter would be a pressed leek terrine and the main course would be sea bass.
He went on to call her a “stunning beauty,” even comparing her to the opulent surroundings of Greece.
“I mean, she was famously the supermodel of the small islands — Santorini — and she was, by far, one of the most graceful members of the royal family that I’ve ever met,” Ramsay said.
Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris in August 1997 at the age of 36.
Back in June, former royal chef Darren McGrady — who spent 11 years cooking for the royal family and worked specifically with Diana for four years before her death — paid tribute to Diana on her 60th birthday.
According to McGrady, Diana spent a lot of time in the kitchen, but “wasn’t a great cook.”
“She would just sit on the counter or on the freezer, and she would talk about The Phantom of the Opera or Les Misérables. We both loved going to the theater,” McGrady said. “She would just talk about anything and everything that was going on.”
“She was an incredibly thoughtful woman,” McGrady said. “She cared about the people behind the palace gates as much as the people in front.”
As for Diana’s favorite foods, McGrady said she enjoyed a lot of “stuffed” dishes, such as stuffed peppers, lobster thermidor and stuffed eggplant. She also enjoyed tomato mousse and eggs suzette (a baked potato, egg and spinach dish).
For dessert, pear flan, as well as bread and butter pudding, were favorites.
But McGrady learned not to tell anyone what Diana liked, after he mentioned salmon as her favourite charity food when asking her to choose her favourite meal.
“About two weeks later, she came into the kitchen and said to me, ‘Darren, what’s for lunch? I’m starving! Please tell me it’s not salmon. Why is there a problem with all the chefs and salmon? Everywhere I go these days they serve salmon!”