Italian chef and media personality Gino D’Acampo said he turned down an invitation to Buckingham Palace not to get cucumber sandwiches. D’Acampo also said he’s not a fan of tea, a detail that could have turned his royal encounter into an awkward one.
As reported by the Daily Mail’s journal editor Richard Eden, Mr D’Acampo said: “I’m not too fond of tea or cucumber sandwiches.
“I was invited to the palace for tea just before Covid, but a cucumber sandwich is my worst nightmare.
“I don’t like tea either, so I called my agent and said, ‘I’d love to meet her, but I don’t like tea and cucumber sandwiches, and I can’t do either one’.”
Still reporting on the conversation he had with his agent, Mr D’Acampo added: “‘I’ll have to wear a tie too, and the last time I did was when I got married. I can’t to do.
“But if I can get a plate of pasta and a cup of coffee, I’m in.”
Mr D’Acampo has become a fixture on British TV through leading programs such as Let’s Do Lunch and Gino’s Italian Escape.
He also became popular by appearing on ITV’s This Morning, showing how to cook Italian staples to hosts Philip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
Mr D’Acampo might have been offered a sandwich to his liking had he gone to Buckingham Palace, as Her Majesty’s former chef once said that the filling of the afternoon treat varies depending on where the Queen is located.
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Darren McGrady, who worked first for several years as a chef for the Sovereign and later for Princess Diana, was candid about the monarch’s habits when it comes to her lunch break.
He told Coffee Friend, “The Queen drank afternoon tea every day, wherever she was in the world.”
Speaking of what kind of sandwiches the Queen would eat with her tea, Mr. McGrady added, “Take Balmoral, for example; there’d be so much salmon coming in, we’d have that fresh salmon and make a wonderful salmon salad or put it in the sandwiches.”
Scones and cakes, of various types and fillings, were also an option, the former royal chef added.
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The Queen is believed to have a fondness for Earl Gray tea when it comes to what she drinks while taking a break from her royal duties.
Former royal butler Grant Harrold shared an insight into Her Majesty’s favorite tea in 2018, when he appeared on the BBC Three comedy show Miss Holland.
He said, “I’m sure the Queen enjoys her Assam or her Earl Gray in the traditional way, made with tea leaves in a teapot and poured into a fine china teacup.
“She will also use a strainer. It is also a myth that members of the royal family use their little finger when drinking.
“I’ve never seen that happen.”
Prior to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the Queen’s primary residence was at Buckingham Palace.
However, in March 2020, the sovereign escaped the capital to be joined at Windsor Castle by her husband Prince Philip, with whom she spent most of the Covid lockdowns until his death in April 2021.
The monarch has returned to the palace only a handful of times since then to carry out official orders.
In May last year, Her Majesty of Berkshire traveled to the palace for the procession leading to the Houses of Parliament, where she attended the State Opening of Parliament.
A month later, she held her first face-to-face audience with Boris Johnson there since the start of the Covid crisis.
In October, she returned to her London residence with Prince Edward for the Baton Relay, which has returned to England today for the start of the Commonwealth Games after traveling around the world.