A chef who rustled up a British-inspired afternoon tea for King Charles III and Queen Camilla has confessed he ‘bent the rules’ for their state visit.
The English monarchy is currently in the thick of its first visit to the United States in almost 20 years, with the late Queen Elizabeth II touching down for the last time in 2007.
Over the next four days, Charles, 76, and Camilla, 77, will head to the White House for a scheduled state dinner, address the US Congress, and travel to New York to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Following the pair’s arrival on Monday (27 April), they headed to the British Embassy in Washington, where they were joined by 650 other guests, including Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
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The event was catered for by Craig Harnden, a former colleague of MasterChef’s Gary Jones and current head chef at the British Embassy.
The culinary expert, who was educated at the Brunel College of Arts and Technology before it was granted university status, explained in a viral social media post that he’d been commissioned by the Embassy to create a quintessentially British afternoon tea.
“We’ll be making approximately 2,500 to 3,000 individual sandwiches,” he admitted before revealing he ‘bent the rules’ on one of the flavours.
“The calculation is based on experience and a little bit of luck. We’ll be doing four types of sandwiches.”
Finger sandwiches, with the crusts cut off, are a traditional afternoon tea serving, with egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon, and cucumber being preferred.
While Harnden and his team put their own twist on all three, he added in another unconventional flavour to the mix.
“We’re doing a roast beef and horseradish sandwich and not normally traditionally involved in the afternoon tea flavours,” he admitted.
“However, we do have the first imports of British beef, which I am more than happy to use for this special occasion.”
The expert added that adding the fourth sandwich was him ‘bending the rules a little bit’.
People seemingly have a lot to say about Harnden and his team’s sandwich assembly skills, with one X user typing: “Hey, if you guys want me to show you how properly spread butter I can help show you.
“I've seen 16 year old Commis Chefs do a better job than that.”
A second said: “Perhaps slice the loaves longways next time.”
“If I were visiting a country I would want to try their food not more of what I eat daily. The US has so many cultures blended that you could fill the entire menu and never scratch the surface. I wish they could have experienced OUR culture,” someone else commented.
Other social media users have praised the spread, with one writing: “Looks delicious! I love a good afternoon tea.”
“Lol. This is me every year prepping my Lawn Service afternoon tea. Same menu, minus the roast beef but plus the perennially popular cocktail sausages,” replied another.
“Am a tad more careful to keep fillings back from the soon to be sliced off crusts though. Waste not, want not.”
A third penned: “Thank you Craig Harnden, Head Chef British Embassy! God bless you and your staff!”
Tonight (28 April), Charles and Camilla will be welcomed by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trumpfor a state dinner at the White House.
The event will take place in the East Room, with various royal experts weighing in on what could be on the menu.
Former royal personal chef Darren McGrady informed Fox News Digital that the royals would expect ‘the best of America’ to be served.
Therefore, we are unlikely to see clotted cream on the banquet menu.
“America has some incredible produce. But having said that, the palace would have been in touch, saying, ‘King Charles is not a great lover of chocolate, but the queen loves chocolate.’ Anything with chocolate on the menu, Camilla will love,” he claimed.
“If there’s a cheese course, the king will adore that, as he loves cheese. He also loves honey, grilled vegetables, risottos and especially lamb. There’s incredible lamb here. He would be honoured if there was lamb.”
Charles, who notoriously hates food waste, will also expect local, seasonal produce to be provided by the White House chefs, as per McGrady.
This may include asparagus, artichokes, peas, spinach and broccoli.
Royal commentator Amanda Matta agreed, adding: “A thoughtfully curated American menu would absolutely appeal to him.
“Unlike a British state dinner, which retains a lot of continental French inspiration, a US state dinner will feature a menu that’s American right down to its core.”
Ella Scott