This Is The Best Way To Cut A Mango, According To Prince Philip
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh and husband to Queen Elizabeth, died two months shy of his 100th birthday at Windsor Castle (via The Washington Post). On the somber occasion of Philip's passing, we remember him as someone who spoke his mind, even if it ruffled people's feathers. We also remember him as a foodie.
"The queen eats to live, whereas Prince Philip lives to eat," said Darren McGrady, former chef to the royal family, in a 2020 video produced by Delish. "He loves not only to cook food, but he loves to forage, he loves to talk about food, he loves to grow food."
The prince enjoys cooking so much that he walked into Chef McGrady's kitchen to ask what was for dinner. When Philip learned the chef planned to cook lamb, the prince told him he would grill it up himself. "What was I supposed to do," McGrady quipped, "go out and do royal engagements while he was doing my job in the kitchen?"
Prince Philip told the royal chef he cut mangos wrong
Prince Philip also didn't hesitate to tell people how to do their jobs, with a directness that bordered on offensiveness. "He got people's hackles up on too many occasions to count. But he motivated people," The Times of London's royal correspondent said. "Regardless of any abuse he may have handed them," the prince's biographer added, "all turned round and said what a nice chap he was" (via The Washington Post).
Darren McGrady, former royal chef, certainly remembers Prince Philip fondly, in large part because he loved and knew food so well. The queen, meanwhile, had a limited palate. But since she was in charge, she set the menu for herself and her husband. "So I think sometimes, Prince Philip actually enjoyed eating on his own," McGrady said (via YouTube).
McGrady recalled a time when he was the target of Philip's bossiness. The prince walked into the kitchen once while the staff was peeling mangos. "You're doing it wrong," Philip told them. "Give me your knife, and a spoon." Philip proceeded to teach his chef how to cook. He cut around the outside of the mango and then dug into it with a spoon to remove the pit. "From then on, we had to do them that way just in case he walked into the kitchen," McGrady said.
McGrady left the royal kitchen years ago, but we're guessing the staff today still pits mangos Prince Philip's way.