Former chef at Buckingham Palace talks about his career

CARTHAGE, Mo. -- A personal touch -- that's the secret behind the sauce, so to speak, of chef Darren McGrady.

It's the main ingredient, anyway, in every single one of the dishes the man makes, especially the ones he used to make for Princess Diana and the rest of the royal family at Buckingham Palace.

McGrady recently visited Precious Moments in Carthage to help promote a Princess Diana exhibit, and while there he lent his expertise to some of the dishes at the Souper Sams restaurant on the compound.

The exhibit, "Pink Ribbons Crusade ... A Date with Diana," will run through December 2004 and features more than 50 years of memorabilia of the late Diana and the royal family.

In between perfecting some of his finer dishes for a dinner to thank supporters of the exhibit, McGrady talked about what it takes to be the head chef for someone as important as Princess Diana.

"You learn how to look after people," he said. "My job is to make their lives easier, to take away their worries. People like that don't have a lot of time, they don't have time to worry if they have milk or orange juice in the freezer. It's also more intimate because you get to learn their likes and dislikes, so that when they come home from a stressful day, you're there to cook them their favorite poached chicken."

That, he says, was one of the princess's favorite things to eat. McGrady said she was a healthy eater, often opting for steamed vegetables and fish instead of more heavy food. Other favorites included zucchini and eggplant, and he said the only time she wanted desserts were when she was entertaining friends.

Princely palates

Her boys, princes Henry and William, are quite different in their tastes, however. McGrady said it was always a special night when he got a note in the menu book that said, "Boys are home."

Though "born with a silver spoon in their mouths," McGrady said, they were very much like other young boys when it came to their favorite foods.

"William, who usually ate in the nursery with the nanny, loved pizza," McGrady said. "And Henry loved chicken fingers. If it had to be more fancy they loved shepherd's pie, which is basically minced lamb with gravy. Their absolute favorite was chocolate chip ice cream, as much as they could get. They were princes, but they were also children and they loved those things."

McGrady said it was the little nuances of his job as a personal chef that made the four years with Princess Diana so memorable. Prior to that, McGrady had to work his way up through cooking staffs at restaurants and hotels before becoming part of the staff at Buckingham Palace. He said the difference between a restaurant chef and a personal chef is like night and day.

No matter what the dish, though, McGrady said it has to have that personal touch. Presentation is important because "you eat with the eyes when it is first given to you."

Then you have to follow that up with the taste, he said. Less is more, he said, and finding foods that will complement one another will always make a meal more enjoyable.