What it Takes to Cater a Royal Wedding Feast

Claire Ptak of London-based bakery Violet Cakes baked the Harry and Mehgan's wedding cake

Original story...

What's on the Menu for Meghan and Harry's Wedding?

600 at the Ceremony, but 200 at the Private Reception

The private reception is the real event; it's where the food will be. What do we know about the reception menu?  Well, we know there'll be enough food to feed a small hungry army, literally. It's been reported that Harry has invited many of his army cohorts. According to Vanity Fair, a source at Windsor Castle revealed that there was a big discussion on canapés and canapé size. It seems that the canapés at Prince Charles and Camilla's wedding were sparse and skimpy, and the wedding party doesn't want to repeat this gaffe. The couple decided to go big and go plenty.  For this 200-person wedding reception, approximately 4,000 over-sized two-bite canapés are expected.

“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,” stated Royal chef Mark Flanagan (leader of the 30-member catering team) to the Independent.

 According to the Independent, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle don't plan to conform to many of the conventions expected from a royal couple.  They have chosen to serve "bowl" dishes to their guests. 

"They've tasted everything, they've been involved in every detail," according to Chef Flanagan.

While exact details on each dish are still under wraps, we do know that the produce for the menu was grown on the Queen's estates.

For dessert, a team of pastry chefs are anticipated to produce chocolate truffles, small crèmes brûlées, yellow macaroons and biscuits topped with mango panna cotta.

"...you don’t get many opportunities to do a royal wedding in your lifetime, so this is very special," said pastry chef Selwyn Stoby.

Mass Catering is a Whole Other Kettle of Fish

For as exciting it may be to partake in meal preparation at a royal event like this, a lot can unexpectedly go wrong for the chefs. Cooking is chemistry and cooking at scale requires an entirely different approach than for small groups. Proteins behave in completely different ways when the mass of a dish (such as a cake, sauce, custard, etc.,...) goes beyond a certain size. Only chefs and culinary teams with experience serving large groups have the skills to manage a royal event.

Emily Thomas of BBC's The Food Chain podcast explores the science, strategies and techniques of scaling a feast fit for a King (or for this weekend, a Prince and Princess). But more importantly, she interviews executive chef Ebbi Buchmann of Blue Strawberry and Table Talk, the rumored team to be catering Harry and Mehgan's big day. Ebbi provides much insight not reported elsewhere.