Princess Diana's chef reveals what she ate in a day

Diana has long been considered the epitome of royal beauty and grace. Svelte and stately, it's now revealed that the late People's Princess enjoyed a number of dishes whipped up by her head chef, Darren McGrady. McGrady was formerly the chef to Queen Elizabeth II, who worked as a chef in Buckingham Palace for 11 years. He then began to cook exclusively for the late Princess of Wales. McGrady shifted to Kensington Palace in 1993, where he cooked for Princess Diana, her husband, Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry. Now the owner of Eating Royally Catering, the chef publicly revealed the late princess's meal plans and food preferences. Darren used to cook for the princess five times a week with leftovers and heating instructions to tide her through the weekend. 

Princess Diana was also vocal about her battle with bulimia, an eating disorder that she developed during her engagement with then-Prince Charles. "The bulimia started the week after we got engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome,” she said to Andrew Morton, the biographer of Diana: Her True Story. "My husband put his hand on my waistline and said, ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren't we?’ and that triggered off something in me," says the princess while opening up about her experience.

It caused Diana to struggle with eating for a decade, before she changed her ways and maintained a healthy diet. She preferred a vegetarian diet and asked McGrady to create fat-free versions of British comfort foods: "I want you to take care of all of the fat. I'll take care of the carbs at the gym," the chef recounted her saying, in an interview with Huffington Post. 

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Diana, who was in recovery from her eating disorders, often still had concerns about her figure and steered clear of foods like red meats. Diana occasionally indulged in steamed fish and poached chicken. Despite the formality of royal life, Diana barely stuck to a meal plan. "I'm not in the mood for this today. I don't want this. Can I have liver and onions? Can I have a stuffed bell pepper?" shared McGrady, retelling her preferences. 

The princess' mornings began with nutritious meals—she typically preferred baked beans, often served with pink grapefruit, a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee, which she was a fan of. For lunch and dinner, she opted for grilled fish, salad, and vegetable-based dishes; stuffed peppers and stuffed eggplants were among her favourites. She generally maintained a plant-based meal plan but occasionally added in chicken liver and seafood to her diet. Her most-loved foods included tomato mousse, vegetable juices, liver and onions, eggs Suzette, lamb with mint and beetroot soup. When it came to desserts, Lady Di enjoyed bread and butter pudding, with a generous garnishing of raisins on top.

The princess had a maximum 10-person guest list when she hosted at home, as she believed in more intimate gatherings where she could talk to all her guests. McGrady shared his love of working for Diana and described her home as a warm abode away from the formality of many places he had previously worked at. 

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