Arrival of Charles III in France: what the king banned from the menu of his dinner at the Palace of Versailles

For his first official visit to France as king, Charles III will receive prestigious guests this September 20 for a dinner at the Château Versailles. A meal for which he has special requirements!

A royal menu! King Charles III and his wife Camilla Parker Bowles have finally arrived in France. The British monarchs were eagerly awaited in the capital after the cancellation of their visit earlier this year. After his coronation, the father of princes William and Harry was supposed to leave his bags in Paris for his first official visit to the Élysée but it had to be postponed because of the demonstrations. The King of England and the Queen Consort will be in France from September 20 to 22, 2023. On the program for their Parisian stay: Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Élysées, Versailles and a visit to the construction site of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral. They will then go to Bordeaux. Among their very busy schedules, they will dine this evening, September 20, in the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles as Queen Elizabeth II did in 1956 after her coronation. Between 150 and 160 people are expected to share the king’s table. Four gems of French cuisine will concoct the meal for which Charles III had serious requirements.

Discover the dinner menu of King Charles III at Versailles

Starred chefs Yannick Alléno and Anne-Sophie Pic, pastry chef Pierre Hermé and master cheesemaker Bernard Antony were chosen to prepare the royal dinner. A luxury menu has been planned to satisfy King Charles and his wife at the Palace of Versailles according to reports Paris Match. As a starter, Anne-Sophie Pic will offer a potcake and blue lobster with a veil of fresh almonds. “It was I who proposed this recipe, validated after going back and forth between Buckingham and the Elysée.”revealed the 3-star chef to the magazine Point. Yannick Alléno will then take care of the dish, which includes Bresse poultry marinated in champagne with an extraction of roasted corn and a porcini mushroom gratin, a recipe which requires 17 hours of preparation. Bernard Antony will make a selection of English and French cheeses. For dessert, Pierre Hermé plans his famous Ispahan, a rose, lychee and raspberry dessert. A menu that should delight the taste buds of the royal couple.

What the king banned from his dinner menu at the Palace of Versailles

But be careful, King Charles still imposed some requirements regarding this dinner in the company of Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. Before each of her visits to France, Elizabeth II checked the menu herself but for her son, a list of prohibitions was enough to challenge our French chefs. Thus, certain foods were prohibited for this meal such as foie gras, a French specialty, which he banned from his own receptions. Only seasonal vegetables are allowed for the recipes, thus respecting the ecological enthusiast that is King Charles III. For the seafood, it’s no ! In order not to risk food poisoning, Elizabeth II’s son must not consume this type of food. Finally, garlic should not be part of the ingredients to prevent the King of the United Kingdom from having bad breath.