The real chef depicted in the "Spencer" dishes of Princess Diana's secret life

2021-11-22 09:55:01 By : Ms. Caroline Shen

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This article contains plot spoilers for the movie "Spencer."

In a key scene in the critically acclaimed new movie "Spencer," the actress Kristen Stewart, who played the doomed Princess Diana, stared at the court chef and asked: "Do you think they will kill me?" "

This disturbing question appeared in the movie trailer, echoing the conspiracy theory that the 36-year-old Prince Charles’ ex-wife was killed in a high-speed car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. Some people think that the British government has obliterated her.

Now, in an exclusive interview with The Washington Post, the real-life chef Darren McGrady recounts that his late boss once joked that her car was intervened.

"I was about to drive her car to the gas station because she felt vulnerable to doing so," McGrady said, referring to Diana's fans sometimes disturbing her in public. "She joked:'Watch out for the brakes, Darren. I think someone has been tampering with them.'"

He laughed it off. Unlike the conspiracy theorists, he accepted her death sentence in the official investigation in 2008. "I definitely think this was a terrible accident," McGrady said, dismissing baseless foul rumors. "There are many other ways [can] someone find her, it's easier than in the tunnels of Paris."

The 59-year-old has cooked for Queen Elizabeth II and other family members for 11 years. During the four years he worked exclusively for her at Kensington Palace, he became particularly close to the princess. She hired him from 1993 to 1997, but he was "fired" shortly after her death.

He knows what she likes to eat — from healthy fresh fruits to ordinary British foods like bread and butter pudding — and surreptitiously ensures that her mother-in-law signs the lunch menu, including Diana’s favorite dessert, crepes. Shu Fulei.

"I'm kind of controlling," McGrady said. "I have to recommend two dishes, so I will choose the first dish that I know the queen does not like, so she will choose the second dish of crepe souffle."

He explained that although he heard rumors about Diana's bulimia from other staff members, the contents of the refrigerator had not been lost, and he had never heard her spit out anything in the bathroom.

"All of this must be done privately," McGrady pointed out, adding that he found the controversial vomiting scene in "Spencer" "disturbing".

As far as the chef is concerned, Diana is a delightful person who seems to be able to forget her troubles, especially when she is distracted by pop music and dance. McGrady often plays unofficial DJs at employee gatherings and plays discos in various royal residences.

He especially liked the fun celebration he arranged in Sandringham during Christmas. At that time, Diana broke into the party with Charles’ cousin, Princess Margaret’s daughter Sarah Armstrong Jones, and now she The married name of Mrs. Sarah Chato.

"As soon as I found them, I put on'Uptown Girl' because the princess loves Billy Joel," McGrady said. "They started dancing with some people and it's nice to see them join."

Another time, when Diana often walked alone on the grounds, the chef discovered her by accident. She was engrossed in the music playing on the earphones. "I asked her what she was listening to, and she replied:'Phil Collins'," McGrady recalled. "When I asked which song, she said, "Another day in heaven. "This is her little joke, because we all know Sandringham is not her favorite place."

Diana also insisted on dancing with the chef at the annual Giles Ball. Balmoral is the Queen's magnificent manor in Scotland, where it is a tradition for the royal family to dance with the staff.

"I told her I couldn't put one foot in front of the other, but she wouldn't listen," he said. "But it's a waltz. She took the lead in some way and made me turn around."

He said Diana's ironic sense of humor was one of her most attractive qualities. In order to get laughter, she often exaggerates. For example, when McGrady was walking his two German Shepherds in the park next to Windsor Castle, they ran straight to the princess, enjoying the fresh air. They jumped up and soiled her clothes.

"She had a date with the queen, and it turned out to be a bit muddy," the chef said. "Later I talked to another employee and he asked the princess what happened. She said, "Oh, I was just attacked by Darren's wolf. "This is a typical representative of her jokes."

Another witty anecdote he heard about Diana was about her replacing her old car with a brand new Mercedes Benz. Someone asked her why she bought a German car when she was a British princess who should support the British economy.

"Soon, she said:'Okay. They are much more reliable than German husbands,'" McGrady recalled. Of course, Diana was referring to the Germanic ancestry of Prince Charles, breaking the unspoken rule that family members should not mention the controversial Windsor ancestry.

"Spencer" does not include Diana's young death. However, the subtitles at the beginning and the end of the film marked it as "an allegory from a true tragedy." The film is set in December 1991 and lasts for three days. It explores the tense nature of Diana's last Christmas with her in-laws before she officially separated from Charles the following year.

It is based on a real celebration in Sandringham, a country estate owned by the Queen, where the Windsor couple always spend their winter vacations. However, the script is very imaginative and often strays into the realm of fantasy. For example, in one scene, the princess walks through the woods in her famous 80s wedding dress. Another time when she became so excited, she tore a huge string of pearls from her neck and watched in shock as these gems drip into the soup.

McGrady is a British expatriate who immigrated to the United States from the United Kingdom in 1997. During the Christmas period depicted in the movie, he worked as a senior chef in Sandringham. His screen role, played by "Mission Impossible" star Sean Harris, is named Darren. He is the only servant named after a real person in Spencer. At the same time, Paul Burrell, the famous butler who Diana once described as "My Rock," was clearly absent.

In contrast, McGrady played an important role in the story and appeared in several scenes with Diana. "Some of our scenes are close to the truth, but others are completely wrong," McGrady told the Post, noting that the screenwriter did not contact him to share his insights.

The British who owns their own company Eating Royally Catering and hosts a popular YouTube channel quipped: "Maybe it's because they have to pay me!"

When the father of two children saw "Spencer" for the first time in Plano, Texas, where he adopted, on November 5th, he said that a scene in the movie must have happened when Diana confronted nearby An impromptu visit to the beach. That was to get rid of Sandringham's shackles on Christmas afternoon.

Diana later told the chef that she "needs to blow away the spider web" and left the manor to the beach without telling her conservation team. "No one knew where she was," McGrady recalled. "When she came back, she said to me:'I think I'm in trouble.'"

Although Diana likes to laugh happily and enjoys the disrespect rather than respect of the staff to her, once this kind of joke backfired.

This incident-not described in "Spencer"-occurred during Christmas in 1991 and involved a colleague named Victor. When Diana ventured into the kitchen looking for snacks or gossip, she would Deal with Diana. "She came one day, walked into the silver pantry and got a spoon for her pudding," McGrady recalled. "Victor always makes a lot of noise, [flauntingly] saying:'Oh! It's Princess Diana!'"

The princess who usually finds this kind of comment interesting replied: "Please don't call me a queen, Victor," and added "I will never be a queen."

There was an awkward silence. No one in the kitchen could have expected the way she would repeat this sentence in an earth-shattering interview with the BBC two years before her death.

At the same time, admitting that watching "Spencer" made him miss Diana's McGrady more than ever, and prefer to cherish the happy hours missed in this slightly gloomy movie.

"Sandringham's kitchen is next to the dining room," he said. "We can hear the princess laughing while sitting at the table. The laughter is very contagious."