You would think that when someone is a part of the Royal household staff, they would do everything in their might to deliver exceptional service to the Queen and her family, but sometimes mistakes do happen.
We don't hear about it often, but in the recently released book Dinner at Buckingham Palace, former royal staff member Charles Oliver goes into detail about one of these rare slip-ups, and how Queen Elizabeth II handled it.
According to Oliver, one of Her Majesty's personal chefs once committed a major faux-pas when he served her a salad with a slug hiding among the greens.
Of course, the Queen was not impressed and made sure to let the chef know exactly how she felt about it without being disrespectful or rude.
The monarch, who usually leaves notes and suggestions for her staff, placed the dead slug on a piece of paper from her notepad, and next to it she wrote: "I found this in the salad"”could you eat it?"
Of course, the Queen has every right to be angry about the incident, but those who are familiar with her sense of humor believe that she was just being funny by sending back such a sassy note.
Although she does have her specific dislikes (who doesn't), Oliver says the Queen "is not fussy about food." He also writes that Elizabeth is very considerate of her guests, and if they're not keen on a particular food item, she will make note of that for the kitchen staff in case they ever come back.
"When she has a guest to an informal lunch and they reveal definite likes and dislikes"”such as an objection to fried potatoes or Brussels sprouts"”the queen will make a discreet note for future reference. This is duly recorded by the kitchen and remembered, should the guest come again."
Like his wife, Prince Philip also likes to provide feedback via written notes.
"If Prince Philip especially likes a wine, or his wife is particularly complimentary, he will write on the bottle label 'Good' or 'Very Good' so that the Yeoman of the Wine Cellars will know to serve it again," Oliver explains.
Special travel diet
Although the Queen isn't necessarily picky when eating at home, she does have a list of dietary requirements when traveling that the host chefs must honor, according to the BBC.
For instance, when the Queen and Prince Philip visited Rome and Milan in 2000, garlic, long pastas and "messy" sauces were off the menu.
Elizabeth and her family have also been been known to avoid eating certain types of seafood while outside the palace walls. This is mainly because there's a high risk of food poisoning associated with seafood.
In addition to shellfish, the Royal Family are discouraged from consuming rare meat, tap water from foreign countries, and food that's too spicy or exotic. These restrictions are in place to prevent illness that could potentially interfere with their duties while they're away from home.
If you'd like to know more about the Queen's food preferences, and some behind-the-scenes tales, you can pre-order Oliver's book on Amazon. You'll have to wait until February 1, 2019 to read it, but based on the slug story alone, it may be worth the wait.
Do you think the Queen was being serious or funny by sending that note?
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