King Charles is looking for a live-in chef who can prepare vegan dishes for him at Buckingham Palace. The successful candidate will be expected to cook up a vegan storm for the monarch, staff and guests at state banquets.
Charles, a keen environmentalist, reportedly avoids eating meat, fish and dairy one day a week for environmental reasons.
Buckingham Palace has advertised for a Premier Sous Chef to work with the Head Chef.
The job advert reads: “This job is truly like no other. As Premier Sous Chef you’ll help to lead a team of talented professionals in the Royal Kitchens.
“Supporting the Head Chef, you’ll oversee day-to-day operations, and whether its staff lunches or a grand State Banquet, you’ll ensure every meal is delivered to the highest of standards.”
The person specification says: “You’re a highly qualified and skilled chef, with experience at a senior level from a fine dining or five star catering operation.”
“With good knowledge of classical cuisine, and of the food industry in general, you’re adept at planning and developing menus for a wide range of occasions, including fine dining and volume catering.
“You have excellent people management skills, and you’re used to empowering and motivating a large team.”
Further “essential” qualities include organising and delegating effectively with the post holder and their team expected to deliver for “very varied occasions, across several sites”.
King Charles, besides eating vegan one day a week, also follows a vegetarian diet two days out of every seven.
In an interview in 2021, His Royal Highness said: “The business of what we eat is, of course, important. For years I haven’t eaten meat and fish on two days a week.
“And I don’t eat dairy products on one day a week. If more did that, you reduce a lot of the pressure on the environment.”
Royal biographer, Tina Brown, wrote in her book The Palace Papers that Prince William once warned guests at a buffet to keep away from his father’s linseed breakfast.
William reportedly told guest Stephen Fry that King Charles’s breakfast choice of linseed was like “bird food”.
Charles’s former press secretary, Julian Payne, previously confirmed the royal never stops for lunch and has a breakfast of fruit and seeds, the Mirror reports.
Mr Payne said: “I never saw a single boiled egg at breakfast in all the years I worked there.
“The King doesn’t eat lunch, so, an early lesson I learnt when out on the road with him was to have a big breakfast or bring a few snack bars with you to keep you going.
“The working day is pretty relentless. Beginning with the radio news headlines and a breakfast of seasonal fruit salad and seeds with tea.”
Leading nutritionist Signe Svanfeldt at the healthy eating app, Lifesum, told Express.co.uk that King Charles’s avoidance of meat is a good strategy.
She said: “This is a good strategy. King Charles’s love for plant-based food increases his dietary fibre, decreases saturated fats and reduces his carbon footprint.
“Reducing your intake of animal-based products instead of cutting them out completely is a sustainable strategy since you don’t have to restrict yourself from things you love – and can enjoy them in moderation.
“Changing your diet to reduce your carbon footprint is easier than you think. Start by cutting down on meat and eating more root vegetables, beans, lentils and whole grains.”
