Half a year has already passed since Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born, and now that he’s six-months-old, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have surely celebrated another milestone by adding solid food to his menu. To mark the occasion, royal chef Damian Wawrzyniak has teamed up with baby food brand Piccolo to create two very special meals.
Taking inspiration from all the royal’s favourite dishes and ingredients, Wawrzyniak created a plant-based puree and a twist on the classic roast chicken – a meal Harry and Meghan were cooking the night he proposed.
Having cooked for the Royal Family before, Wawrzyniak knows a thing or two about regal meals. But to ensure the dishes received a true royal seal of approval, he enlisted the support of two aptly named babies Archie (13 months) and Harry (8 months). The two little ones visited Damian’s restaurant House of Feasts in Peterborough to test the princely purees for themselves – and it seems they got the stamp of approval.
“With Meghan Markle believed to favour a plant-based diet, Damian’s first dish, co-created with Piccolo’s head of nutrition Alice Fotheringham, is a vegan taste sensation featuring blended peas, blanched cauliflower and roasted carrots – with a delicate hint of sweet potato,” according to Piccolo.
“Suitable for babies aged six-month-old and above, Damian ensured the peas were fully reduced to remove all skins which can be hard for babies to digest, and also introduced a hint of healthy fat with some olive oil to round the dish off perfectly.”
Older babies who are more familiar with chunks of solid food can feast on Piccolo’s baby-approved version of a classic roast chicken dinner.
“The dish, which features an array of tasty textures, comes complete with delicate bite-sized chicken breast chunks, small flakes of crispy chicken skin, beetroot, onions and pickles. And in line with strict royal tradition, absolutely no garlic was used – which is banned from all royal kitchens at the request of HM Queen Elizabeth II.”
Wawrzyniak, who has prepared a banquet for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in the past, and for Princess Anne on a separate occasion, said he was excited to dip back into royal cooking, even if it was in an indirect way.
“Cooking for the British Royal Family was an unforgettable experience that I think back on fondly, and this campaign gave me the chance to recreate those memories with Harry and Archie 2.0,” Wawrzyniak said. “I am a father of two myself, and I know first hand how exciting but also daunting the weaning process can be. It was so much fun to combine my knowledge of royal cuisine with purees.”
