The ‘lower class’ foods banned by the royals: Aristocratic chef spills the meat and vegetables suitable to cook with – and those reserved for ‘cattle feed’

When it comes to meals fit for royalty and aristocracy, Aussie chef Annabel Bower knows first-hand what’s on the menu at upper class dinner parties – and what food is ‘considered lower class’.

The South Australian chef and food stylist spoke to FEMAIL about her former life working for English aristocrat Lord Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft and his wife Lady Emma Mancroft – including the foods you would never dare serve to visiting royals and celebrity guests.

Annabel, 44, also spilled on the classic ‘picnic foods’ beloved by then young Princes’ William and Harry when they joined the Mancrofts at local events, like hunting or the polo.

After graduating from Ireland’s prestigious Ballymaloe Cookery School, a chance connection landed the then 21-year-old Anabel a position in the Mancroft household. 

The job saw Annabel based in Gloucestershire, England on a country property within the Duke of Beautfort’s estate – a stone’s throw from now monarch King Charles‘ Gloucestershire country property, Highgrove. 

There, she was employed for almost a year as a cook and nanny to the aristocratic family, including Lord and Lady Mancroft’s three young children, the Honourable Arthur, Georgia and Maximilian.

‘I was only 21 and found it quite stressful to have all these really rich, aristocratic and sometimes famous people eating my food,’ Annabel told FEMAIL.

‘It was very much a glimpse into the upstairs, downstairs world of aristocratic life, which we don’t really have in Australia.’

The position required Annabel to master the food and dining etiquette rules expected of an upper-class English household – and she quickly discovered that some surprising foods were ‘considered lower class’ and firmly off the table.

‘You would never serve anything deep fried at a dinner party,’ Annabel revealed, adding that it had nothing to do with fried foods like chips being unhealthy.

‘It was fine to serve something like mashed potato that was absolutely full of butter, but deep-fried foods were considered quite lower class.’

The chef explained this was because lower class households typically had ‘deep fryers running in their kitchen all the time’ to cook up things like nuggets and fish fingers.

Fried food fare from the ‘chipper’, referring to a takeaway fish and chip takeaway shop, was similarly considered lower class.

The mother-of-four also explained that there were only a few select cuts of meat that you’d serve to upper class diners. 

‘Rib eye, beef fillet or a big piece of scotch are acceptable,’ she said.

‘You’d never serve minced or diced meat, because they’re lesser cuts of meat. They could only be given to children or used for staff meals.’

Annabel even noted that there were ‘different tiers of vegetable’ that were acceptable to serve to guests. 

‘Swede turnips, for example, are used to feed animals,’ Annabel said. ‘But one time, I unknowingly made a Swede turnip mash with caramelised onion. [A family member] came and told me, “You can’t serve that. That’s cattle feed”.

Annabel added that a diced carrot also falls into the no-go category – but, interestingly a whole baby carrot, like a Dutch carrot was acceptable.

Furthermore, anything that resembled takeaway food, fast food, or was mass produced was ‘completely banned’.

The same rule applied to desserts, meaning it would be ‘a faux pas to serve a premade dessert – like a store-bought cake’.

So, what is on the menu?

Some of the Mancroft household favourites – which were always ‘made from scratch’ – included pork and apple sausages served with mashed potato and gravy, chicken and leek pie and salmon cakes.

Simplicity was also a huge part of the upper class menu ethos, with Annabel explaining that ‘garlic and parsley’ were as ‘crazy’ as you could get with herbs and spices.

As for sweet treats, Annabel said jam roly-poly pudding and treacle tart were a favourite and that most of her weekends would be spent whipping up a ‘sponge cake with fresh cream and fresh berries’.

But there was one popular upper class dinner party dessert staple that surprised the Aussie cook: ice cream.

‘Most of the time they wanted me to make homemade ice cream from scratch, set in a mould. It was a log shape that you’d cut into slices and serve with fresh cream. They always called it an “ice”,’ she said.

‘Lady Mancroft explained to me that many years ago having a freezer was considered really special, so to be able to make and serve ice cream in your own home was considered quite elaborate.’

Annabel’s duties also extended to packing abundant picnics for when the Mancrofts joined royalty and other aristocrats at prestigious events like the Duke of Beaufort’s hunt and the Gloucestershire Festival of Polo, held annually at the Beaufort Polo Club.

Annabel explained that the picnic fare was designed to be ‘shared with whoever was there’ – which included regular attendees, Prince William and Prince Harry.

When it comes to picnic food that’s fit for royalty – the Aussie chef says all the favourites were ‘quite simple’.

‘They love a ham and cheese sandwich or a classic chicken sandwich. Of course, you would use beautiful fresh white bread and top it with poached chicken, mayonnaise, lemon and herbs.’

Sweets like ‘jam drop biscuits’ were also a popular picnic treat enjoyed by royals and aristocrats.

In more formal dining circumstances, Annabel shared there were loads of etiquette guidelines around how food should be served.

‘At dinner parties, the seating placements are very deliberate,’ Annabel explained.

‘The most important male had to sit next to the hostess and the most important female sits next to the host.

‘Then, food must be served in a certain order around the table, always starting with the hostess.

The meals were also served using delicate cutlery and crockery sets ‘that could only be hand washed’.

‘It was a terrifying task to hand wash a hundred year old china set with gold edging and delicate crystals,’ the chef recalled.

Annabel also found it fascinating to discover that ‘napkin rings’ were a no-go.

‘I thought a silver napkin ring would be super posh, but true aristocrats don’t use them because their napkins are laundered after ever use, whereas a napkin ring suggests they weren’t washed,’ she said.

The dinner party also has a structured format – it typically commences after 8.30pm (long after children had been separately fed and put to bed!) and the food is served promptly and quickly.

‘Once dinner is finished, the hosts and guests move to a sitting room, and staff disappear,’ she said.

Despite having the opportunity to live amongst the crème of upper English society, Annabel revealed she soon felt homesick and lonely in the rural community, eventually returning to her hometown of Adelaide.

Nowadays, she works closely with South Australia powerhouse food brands and icons, like Maggie Beer, pasta brand San Remo as well as local seafood producers Ferguson Australia lobster and Yumbah oysters and abalone.

Although her days of serving meals to royalty are long behind her, Annabel reflects that the experience gave her confidence in any high-pressure cooking situation.

‘Since being back in Australia, I’ve cooked for high court judges, Prime Ministers and at all kinds of high stakes events’ she said.

‘I never felt intimidated cooking for those people, because I’d already cooked for so many different VIPs in England.’