Why The Queen Never Eats Square Sandwiches
Cooking for the royal family is no easy feat. Not only do you have to conquer the monumental task of preparing a meal "fit for a queen" on a daily basis, but there is a lengthy list of rules to follow. In fact, what Queen Elizabeth really eats (and doesn't eat) in a day may be subject to them. The halitosis-causing garlic and its cousin, the onion, are a big no-no (via Daily Record). The queen also doesn't eat "pasta, potatoes, or rice" when she is dining alone; she eats her bananas using cutlery; and she has been known to consume fruit from a Tupperware container (via Hello! Magazine).
Bustle reports that, according to former royal chef Darren McGrady, Queen Elizabeth II is partial to earl grey tea, Special K cereal, "grilled Dover sole," and dark chocolate. Oh, and the royals are forbidden from eating meat cooked rare and shellfish in general in order to avoid food poisoning and other stomach upsets (via the BBC).
As with everything else the royal family eats, there are even strict rules when it comes to preparing a simple sandwich, and these regulations have nothing to do with the queen's personal preferences. Yes, the way the royals eat their ham and swiss, egg salad, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches has been determined by a centuries-old rule that no one would be bold enough to break.
The Royals are adverse to anything with points
Former royal chef McGrady told Food & Wine that Queen Elizabeth loves salmon or cucumber sandwiches. But, while the general public is free to cut their sandwiches into rectangular or triangular halves — and the majority of Americans cut their sandwiches using the triangular method — the royals can only have theirs one way. And what they "enjoy" has nothing to do with it. How does a regal sandwich differ from the ones served at your local deli?
Ultimately, there is an art to creating sandwiches for the royal family. In a YouTube video uploaded by Real Royalty, former royal chef Graham Newbould shares that the queen and her family eat their bread sliced extremely thin, but there's one step that's even more important. He adds that, historically, "if you served anything to the monarch that had a point on it, it meant that you were that you were trying to overthrow the throne." To this very day, their sandwiches are rounded off without even a hint of a point left behind.
A traditional sandwich cut into four equal squares could spell disaster for the royal chef that presented it to his boss. Who knew that leaving bread in its natural squarish shape could be construed as a treasonous act? Historically speaking, it's a case of "off with the corners or off with your head."