News
The Duchess of Cornwall launches Cook for The Queen competition to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee
25th January 2012
The Duchess of Cornwall is inviting schoolchildren from around the country to create a special menu fit for The Queen in celebration of her 60 years on the throne.
Her Royal Highness launched British Food Fortnight's Cook For The Queen's Diamond Jubilee competition during a visit to Swindon, Wiltshire, where she toured a school's food technology laboratory.
In 1953 Coronation Chicken was invented by Constance Spry and served at The Queen's Coronation lunch.
Now students are being asked to put together a menu featuring the best of British which will be served to The Queen and The Duchess at a reception at Buckingham Palace in June.
The Duchess of Cornwall came up with the idea and it is her special tribute to the Queen to mark her 60-year reign.
Arriving at the Nova Hreod College, Her Royal Highness was greeted by students and staff.
The comprehensive school has been actively involved in British Food Fortnight in previous years, asking some of its 1,075 students to design creative, nutritionally balanced meals for athletes, and menus celebrating local produce.
Today, the students were busy thinking of local ingredients to put into their dishes which best represent their part of the country for the special meal.
Around the country everything from mini Lincolnshire toad-in-the-holes, little Cornish pasties, Pan Haggerty, Caerphilly tart or trifle with seasonal berries are being considered.
Representatives from the top four winning schools will be invited to Buckingham Palace in June to see their recipes turned into canapes by Royal Chef Mark Flanagan.
The students will help serve them at the reception attended by The Queen and The Duchess.
British Food Fortnight, now in its 11th year, invites schools every year to teach young people about food within their curriculum activities during the event and to take part in its annual competition.
The dates for this year's competition have been changed, for one year only, to run during the Olympics under the title Love British Food 2012.
Further information
Find out how to enter the Cook for The Queen competition