The One And Only Way Queen Elizabeth Will Eat Her Fish And Chips

While Her Majesty the Queen may be the world's longest-reigning monarch as well as one of its wealthiest royals, she's also British to the core, and as fond of good plain English cooking as any commoner. As a True Brit, she is naturally partial to fish and chips, but forget the greasy newspaper-wrapped takeaway from the chippy down the corner (even though she'd undoubtedly agree that fish-wrapper is the noblest calling to which some of the UK's notorious tabloids could aspire). Instead, her personal chefs prepare the royal fish and chips to the queen's exacting specifications.

While he is no longer preparing the queen's meals himself, former royal chef Darren O'Grady dished on her favorite dishes in his book Eating Royally (via Delish), sharing such fun facts as her majesty's penchant for eating bananas with a knife and fork. (Such sophistication!) He also has a YouTube channel, and in one of his latest videos, he reveals exactly how Liz likes her fish and chips.

O'Grady says that fish and chips Fridays were a thing at Buckingham Palace, and something everyone looked forward to. He would cook them in a more traditional style for the palace staff (shared in another YouTube video), but the royal family had theirs prepared to suit the queen's own particular taste.

For starters, Queen Elizabeth II is not a fan of batter — O'Grady says she finds it "a little bit too much," and prefers a coating that's "more refined," i.e. a panko crumb crust seasoned with a little salt and pepper. The fish (she favors cod) is actually oven-cooked, although the chips are deep-fried. Maris Pipers are the preferred potatoes, and each chip must be cut into a perfect rectangle. Once the chips are done, they can't just be dumped on the plate, either — instead, they must be piled in a neat little tower. Both fish and chips are accompanied by a tarragon hollandaise instead of plebeian old tartar sauce, and the plate is garnished with a pansy.

Ooh, fancy, fancy! Maybe Long John Silver's should consider offering a similar presentation (and who knows, doing so earlier might have even saved Arthur Treacher's). After all, if we can get latte art at the corner coffee shop, are flower-bedecked, symmetrical chip towers such an unreasonable demand?