The Queen is hiring, and here's how you can apply for the delicious job and LIVE in Buckingham Palace
Looks like the royal kitchen needs a helping hand in order to prepare some of the Queen's favorite dishes. Buckingham Palace has launched a search for a new kitchen porter who will be getting an annual pay of £19,935.80. On top of that, if selected for the job role, the chosen person will get a chance to live in the palace. The job role, which was advertised on the Royal Household website this week, outlines the need for a new member of the catering team who will help to provide 'outstanding' service. At the same time, the role also comes with 33 days holiday per year - including bank holidays. In case you do not have a first-hand experience in catering, on-the-job training is also offered to make it easier for new recruits.
The vacancy, advertised on the Royal Household's website states that the "extraordinary service" that is provided by the team is what sets them apart. The applicant will have to join a committed Kitchen team that works together to prepare and serves food to the very highest standards. It further added, "by maintaining the kitchen and clear-up areas you'll ensure our chefs and assistants have all they need to deliver meals throughout the day. You’ll also on occasion assist with food preparation."
While the experience is not important, the job role does ask for people to be "a natural team player, happy to get involved, use initiative and work with your colleagues to achieve a smooth daily service." It also noted that a "good understanding of food hygiene and safety would be beneficial."
According to the Queen's former chef Darren McGrady - who went on to serve Diana, Princess of Wales, working in the palace is a wonderful experience. "Cooking at Buckingham Palace was amazing," he said in an interview with Daily Mail. "It was everything I expected it to be. They have the most amazing produce, the best quality food, the best ingredients to work with. Just little things like picking up the phone and calling Harrods and asking for a rack of lamb with a two-inch eye of meat and six bones – you got everything you wanted."
He further added that the queen was "not a foodie at all", and prefers "throwing dinners to actually eating them". "She's not a foodie at all," he said. She eats to live; it's Prince Philip that lives to eat. He loves food, he's interested in food, he wants to know where it comes from. The Queen, not so much." He also revealed that the queen disliked garlic. "We could never serve garlic to the queen but Prince Philip loved it. If we were at Balmoral and she was out, we'd slather his steak in garlic," he said.
He added, "But when she was at the table, there was no garlic at all. She was very Victorian and believed when she was brought up that you don't eat garlic - because if you were holding an audience the next day, you didn't want to be breathing garlic. It was seen as anti-social." He further noted that the Queen would often insist for the menu to be written in French and preferred bland food over spicy.