WE HIT THE AISLES WITH A FAMOUS FOOD LOVER
Former royal chef Carolyn Robb picks the supermarket ingredients that have inspired her career and cooking
The foodie
At 21 years old, Carolyn Robb had landed her dream job. Having started at Kensington Palace as the chef to the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in 1987, two years later the South African-born cook was hired by Prince Charles as personal caterer for him and his young family. ‘They’re the most fabulous people to cook for,’ says Carolyn. ‘It was such a lovely time to be there, in the sense that Harry and William were growing up; they were four and seven when I joined and 15 and 18 when I left.’ Carolyn worked behind the scenes at the family’s homes at Kensington and Highgrove, and at events at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. But perhaps the biggest impression was made by King Charles himself. ‘He was so passionate about the provenance of food,’ adds Carolyn, who still works as a chef and cookbook writer. ‘It really taught me to appreciate ingredients in a different way.’
Tea at the Palace: 50 Delicious Afternoon Tea Recipes by Carolyn Robb (White Lion Publishing, £14.99) is out now
FRESH BASIL
This goes back to my time at Highgrove, when the wonderful vegetable garden had masses of fresh herbs. The King absolutely loved fresh herbs, so we used plenty of them in all the cooking. Now I have a little herb garden outside my kitchen. Basil is my favourite – particularly for making homemade pesto.
THE COLLECTIVE FUDGE YOGURT
I love this. It also makes a really good banoffee pie – make regular, individual biscuit-crumb bases, then put a layer of banana, and put some of the yogurt (with the fudge) on top and freeze it. It’s really quick to do and absolutely yummy.
PARMESAN
While I was cooking for the King, he sent me to Italy or France for a couple weeks every year to work with the local chefs. So I learnt – in the case of Italy – the authentic way to make wonderful risottos and fresh pastas. Ever since, I can’t really manage without Parmesan.
The provenance of ingredients was always important to the King, and it still excites me to find a product like FARRINGTON’S RAPESEED OIL. It’s local, it’s organic, and everything about it is just the way it should be.
I always put a spoonful of WHOLEGRAIN MUSTARD in t
