Seasonal produce, canapés and chocolate truffles: First look at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding food

The royal wedding is mere days away, and while we know plenty about the finer details of the big day already – from the flowers to the music and who will be attending – Kensington Palace has this morning revealed that food prep for the big day is underway.

“We dropped in on the Kitchens at Windsor Castle, who will shortly begin final preparations for the #RoyalWedding,” a tweet from Kensington Palace stated.

Saturday will see two receptions: a formal ‘wedding breakfast’, which will place immediately after the ceremony at Windsor Castle, and in the evening, a smaller reception for the couple’s close friends and family, held at Frogmore House.

Led by chef Mark Flanagan, the kitchen staff at Windsor Castle are excitedly getting ready to create the dishes that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have carefully chosen.

“All the staff are delighted to be involved on the day. We’ve even had old staff contacting us if we need some extra support,” says Mark, The Head Chef of The Royal Household.

So what can guests expect to be treated to?

For a start all the produce used will be seasonal.

“Luckily the seasons have just fallen perfectly and that’s become the main focus in the decision making of the menus,” Mark, who is leading a team of 30 chefs and assistants told the official royal website.

Though no details of the actual dishes to be used have been released by Kensington Palace, the menu is likely to include asparagus, peas and tomatoes, as well as sweet and decadent treats such as chocolate truffles.

Pastry chef Selwyn Stoby has been busy in the royal kitchen preparing milk chocolate truffles with a kirsch centre, something that is often created for exclusive receptions and private parties at Windsor Castle.

“You don’t get too many opportunities in your lifetime to do a royal wedding so this is very, very special,” he said. “The care, the attention and the details to everything, it really is very exciting.”

According to the head chef Mark Flanagan, Meghan and Harry have been involved in every detail of the menu, attending several tasting trials held in the Windsor Castle kitchen back in March.

As well as being seasonal, a lot of the produce used in the dishes serving the 600 guests will be British coming from local farms and suppliers across the UK.

Some of the ingredients have also been taken from Her Majesty’s own Estate at Windsor.

“We are using produce off Her Majesty’s estates and that features very much,” Mark Flanagan told Telegraph.

He added: “We’ve really just been trying to let the ingredients stand proud within the dishes. There’s no experimentation on Saturday whatsoever, tried and tested and predominantly classics.”

The royal chef said he and his team started preparing for the wedding before the couple requested their services.

“Once the wedding announcement was made, we started to work on some ideas, about what we would do if we were asked to be involved, so we were able to get into the trial situation early in March,” he said.

The couple want to make the public as integral a part of the occasion as they can – with invites sent to over 1200 members of the public

But the reception will be a far more intimate setting, reserved for the closest in Harry and Meghan’s inner circle.

While it’ll be picnics for the members of the public attending the wedding, reception guests are likely to be treated to some fine dining.

In terms of the actual food served, the soon-to-be couple are reportedly opting for trendy two-bite canapés and “bowl food” for guests at their afternoon reception.

The reception is expected to be catered by Table Talk, which boasts “sensational food” at “bespoke events.”

It’s also the same company who catered the wedding of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their 2011 nuptials and by Pippa Middleton’s in 2017, both attended by Harry who was clearly impressed by the food.

It is no surprise that Meghan in particular has taken a keen role in the choosing of the food.

The former actress is also well know for her love of food and her Instagram site and blog The Tig, named after her favourite wine Tignanello, both regularly featured articles, reviews and pictures of food.

But since she started dating and became engaged to Prince Harry, both sites have been shut down.

As for the wedding cake, Pastry chef Claire Ptak, owner of the fashionable Violet Bakery in East London, will be creating a sponge inspired by ‘the bright flavours of spring’.

Rather than a traditional fruit cake, Harry and Meghan have chosen a lemon and elderflower number covered with buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers for Saturday’s nuptials.

According to photographer Kristin Perers who has collaborated with Claire on numerous occasions, having photographed her book The Violet Bakery Cookbook and her articles for the Guardian ‘Baking the Seasons.’ Meghan and Harry are in for a real treat when it comes to their choice of cake.

“The choice of a cake from Violet for the Royal Wedding is actually quite meaningful,” she told Yahoo Style UK.

“Claire’s baking is grounded in quality ingredients and seasonality. Her cakes are also beautiful but in a way that is not showy or glitzy.”

“And of course with Claire you always get an element of surprise, she is a very intuitive creator and this is a truly magical gift as a baker,” Kristin continues.

“Her flavours are honest, delicious and true to the seasons that’s one of the things that makes them so special,” she adds.

Click below to see the royal wedding memorabilia available:

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Heading to Windsor for the royal wedding? Here’s everything you need to know

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