There are mere days to go until Harry and Meghan tie the knot at St George’s Chapel, so we bet everyone is going into overdrive with wedding prep in Windsor.
And while we have some knowledge about the designer wedding dress that Meghan will rock as well as the venue, carriage, flowers and entertainment (Spice Girls, we’re looking at you), there’s one big thing that hasn’t been discussed: the food.
And with Meghan and Prince Harry’s royal baker Clair Ptak taking to Instagram on Tuesday to share the first glimpse of the wedding cake (scroll down to see!), there is no better time to run through the royal wedding menu.
Head chef of the royal household, Mark Flanagan, has revealed that the wedding breakfast will be made from fresh ingredients sourced from the Home Counties.
“The day of the wedding has fallen very kindly for us. All the British vegetables are just coming into season and that’s been a point of focus for us.
“We know the couple wanted us to make sure we used all of the local seasonal produce as much as possible throughout their menu, and this recent good weather is really helping us to achieve that.”
From new information released by Kensington Palace, the 600 guests will be served meals featuring fresh veggies like asparagus, peas and artichokes.
Harry and Meghan have reportedly been very involved in the details and back in March, sampled all of the dishes prepared from scratch in Windsor Castle’s kitchens. And no wonder, Meghan is a self-proclaimed foodie and frequently shared her gourmet pics on her now extinct Instagram account (don’t worry, there are still screenshots).
And of course the drinks will be flowing! Meghan named her old lifestyle blog The Tig after a particular Italian red wine called Tignanello so guests may be able to treat themselves to that as well as plenty of champagne for all those toasts.
Meghan’s a self-confessed foodie so we won’t be seeing anything bland or boring on the table.
And our mouths are watering at the sweet treats on offer. Pastry Chef Selwyn Stoby who’ll be working on the big day revealed how he makes his luxurious chocolate truffles, a royal favourite along with bite-sized crème brûlée, biscuits with mango panna cotta topping and yellow macaroons, yum!
“You approach every Royal event with the same care and attention to detail, but you don’t get many opportunities to do a Royal Wedding in your lifetime, so this is very special,” says chef Stoby.
How do we get to try Selwyn Stoby’s chocolate truffles?
One thing we do know for certain is the cake won’t be your typical fruit cake but rather a lemon elderflower cake covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers. Claire Ptak, owner of London-based bakery Violet Cakes has been tasked with making the couple’s wedding cake and like the bride, is a California native. She was also interviewed by Meghan herself for The Tig.
Claire has revealed, four days out from the big day, she’s started on the lemon elderflower masterpeice. Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, the royal baker shared a photo of several crates of lemons with the caption: “And so it begins”.
The picture of six crates of fresh, Sicilian lemons, delivered by fruit and veg merchants Natoora in east London, immediately had her Instagram followers salivating with anticipation.
While many are excited about the unorthodox cake choice, the Queen’s cousin, party planner Lady Elizabeth Anson is nervous the cake breaks with traditions and could even ‘ruin frocks’.
Speaking on Sky News, Lady Elizabeth said: “I am a practical person and as soon as I heard that her elderflower cake was coming, I thought to myself ‘a plate, a fork, a napkin, with a traditional wedding cake, nothing extra’.”
“So you’ve got the plate, the fork and the napkin and the elderflower cake, a handbag, a glass, the whole thing. Because I imagine an elderflower cake is not something you pick up with your fingers and eat.”
“It’s more about the fact, are they going to drip elderflower cake down the front of their frocks because they haven’t got anything to put it on? Or, you know, how it is going to be served?”
“Are they going to drip elderflower cake down the front of their frocks?” The Queen’s cousin, Lady Elizabeth Anson, has voiced her worry over Meghan and Prince Harry’s unorthodox wedding cake choice.
For their wedding back in 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge feasted on a three course meal of seafood, organic roast lamb and vegetables and a trio of desserts followed by tea and coffee. Something tells us though that Harry and Meghan might go down a less traditional angle with their food, maybe even incorporating an American twist into their dishes. Though we doubt there will be a cheeseburger in sight.
