Palace defends guest chef Raymond Blanc’s role as celebration of UK-France ties
Buckingham Palace has subtly responded to criticism over King Charles III’s decision to include a guest French chef in last week’s State Banquet for French President Emmanuel Macron—a move that one former royal insider had branded a "slap in the face" to the palace’s in-house chefs.
The controversy began after celebrated French chef Raymond Blanc was invited to collaborate with the Palace kitchen staff for the July 9 event at Windsor Castle. While the gesture was intended to honour Anglo-French friendship, it drew criticism from former royal chef Darren McGrady, who claimed the decision was “a huge slap in the face to the palace royal chefs,” expressing concern that the regular staff were being overshadowed.
In response, Buckingham Palace shared a behind-the-scenes video on its official Instagram account, showing Blanc preparing parts of the menu and explaining his personal connection to the event.
“Presently I’m in this extraordinary place which is called Windsor Castle, which is dreamlike,” Blanc says in the clip. “We’re about to cook a feast fit for a king celebrating a very special moment of the year.”
He added: “My food is never with guilt; my food is about purity, it’s about close to home, it’s about the organic values as well. And I know our King is the same with the same values. I admire him enormously, and I hope he will love this dish.”
The video’s caption made it clear that Blanc worked alongside the palace chefs, stating:
“In the spirit of UK-France collaboration, Raymond Blanc was invited to work with Palace chefs to create the first course and dessert.”
Blanc himself later addressed the backlash, telling The Daily Mail, “We all have an opinion—and I’ve got a different one. I like to bring people together.” In a show of deference to the royal team, he left the main course entirely in the hands of Mark Flanagan, the Royal Household’s head chef.
The Palace’s quiet but firm response appears to reframe the collaboration as a symbolic gesture of diplomacy and shared values, rather than a slight to the royal kitchen—a message that aligns with King Charles’s long-standing commitment to sustainability, tradition, and cross-cultural celebration.
