#39 The Royal Cookery Book in Colour

#39 The Royal Cookery Book in Colour

This is a lovely cookbook by Mrs. McKee (first name?) who cooked for the British Royal Family. She was trained in a castle in Sweden and learned how to use every part of a pig or a bullock. She started cooking for Her Majesty (Queen Elizabeth, not Madonna) in 1951 when she was still a princess. She was the only female chef in charge of a royal kitchen, so well done Mrs. McKee! I've heard the Queen refuses to eat parsley because she doesn't want to be photographed with green between her teeth. Mrs. McKee shares no secrets or insights into this, she knew her place. All we get is recipes and this was a very difficult book for her to write, because she didn't use them. Still she finally got it done back in 1983.

At that time, I still thought the Royal family was neat. All my family is English so I've always had a bit of a royalist bent. We were all up at the crack of dawn to munch on English muffins and watch Charles and Di get married in 1981. We moved to Canada too late to see them visit our city but I was here for the royal visit of Andrew and Sarah, the Duke and Duchess of York in July of 1987. We had them put on elaborate period costumes and tour a local fort in the sweltering heat. They didn't seem to mind.

I dragged my husband out to their walk-about on their first day here. We lined the garden walkways waiting for their arrival. One sweet little lady with a very British accent was standing beside us. She mentioned this would be her 10th time to see royals and she had come prepared with her own little stool to stand on for a better view. As they were getting nearer and nearer to us, she stepped off her stool and took my arm and help me on to it. I tried to say no but she said my first royal viewing should be special. It was, they came to within a few feet of us what a treat!

By the time my hubby announced we would be spending 2002 in England, most of the royal glamor had worn off. At that point I wouldn't have walked across the street to see Charles. I still think the Queen is lovely and we helped her celebrate her Golden Jubilee that year. We were also in England when both Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother died. I'm sure it was nothing we did but there hasn't been another royal death since we left.

It was kind of fun getting out some of my Royal stuff, that's the Royal Family paper doll set and my favorite The Royal Family Pop-Up Book, see Charles and Di at the Fort. If you pull the tab, the towns people bow, after all, we're still a Commonwealth country up here. So here's to the Queen, long may she live and let's keep Charlie down on the farm raising his organic vegetables. I sure won't be buying his cookbook. Cookbook #39 is The Royal Cookery Book in Colour by Mrs. McKee.