Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will not have a sitdown meal at their wedding on Saturday but have opted for “bowl food” instead.
Seasonal mini main courses will be served by waiters and waitresses to the 600 guests who will be standing in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle. Bowl food is becoming increasingly popular due to it being seen as more sociable.
Guests will later feast on sweet and savoury canapes during the lunchtime reception where the usual wedding traditions will take place: the cutting of the cake and the speeches.
Royal chef Mark Flanagan is leading the team who are responsible for feeding the Royal Family and the couple’s guests. On the big day, they will be in charge of putting the finishing touches to the canapes and bowl dishes being served at the afternoon event hosted by the Queen.
Chef Mark Flanagan. (Photo: @KensingtonRoyal/Twitter)
Mr Flanagan has attempted to keep as many ingredients as possible British and local. They have sourced a lot of the ingredients from the Home Counties and lands associated with the Queen such as Windsor.
He said: “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.
“We know the couple wanted us to make sure we used all of the local seasonal produce as much as possible throughout their menu, and this recent good weather is really helping us to achieve that.”
He also explained how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have tasted everything being served at their wedding and have been involved with every detail. They visited Windsor Castle to sample the menu suggestions in the castle’s Great Kitchen which has served more than 30 monarchs, including the Queen.
Mr Flanagan said that working to prepare dishes for the Royal Wedding created a sense of pride for himself and his staff: “All weddings are great celebrations and it is an honour for all of our team to have some small part to play in that celebration.”
In the next few days, Mr Flanagan and his team will start washing and peeling vegetables in order to allow maximum presentation time on Saturday to ensure everything is perfect for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
