Food writer Tom Parker Bowles has revealed the authentic recipe for Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation Chicken, a dish created for her 1953 coronation, while lamenting how it has been degraded into what he calls a "sorry service station" lunch over subsequent decades.
The Original Royal Recipe
In his 2024 book Cooking & The Crown, Bowles details the classic recipe developed by culinary experts Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume for the Queen's coronation banquet. "I know, I know it really wouldn't be a royal cookbook without this so-called regal 'classic'," he writes, before presenting the original formulation.
Bowles emphasizes that the genuine version is "perfectly civilised," featuring shredded chicken in a sophisticated sauce that includes tomato paste, red wine, bay leaves, lemon juice, and traditional seasonings, served on crustless brown bread cut into "three fat fingers."
A Dish of Its Time
The 1953 coronation occurred just one year before World War II rationing officially ended after fourteen years. At that time, chicken was not a commonplace ingredient, making Coronation Chicken a particularly special treat for the historic occasion.
While some speculate the dish might have been influenced by Jubilee Chicken served to George V in 1935—which also combined chicken, mayonnaise, and curry powder—there is limited evidence to confirm this connection. The exact inspiration behind Spry and Hume's creation remains somewhat uncertain.
The Modern Degradation
Bowles strongly criticizes how the recipe has been altered over the past seventy-three years. "As the years went on, all manner of base and vile things were done to this perfectly innocent recipe," he writes, specifically mentioning the addition of almonds, sultanas, excessive turmeric, and other ingredients that transformed it into what he describes as a "banana-hued, sickly-sweet aberration."
According to Bowles, these modifications have reduced the once-regal dish to "the abject filling for a thousand sorry service station fillings," a far cry from its original royal presentation.
Royal Cooking at Home
For those interested in recreating the authentic version, Bowles provides the complete recipe in his book, which features over one hundred dishes spanning from Queen Victoria's reign to King Charles III. While some recipes appear quite elaborate, such as 'Pommes Elizabeth' and 'Pudding au Pain et aux Cerises,' the Coronation Chicken recipe remains relatively straightforward, though mastering the sauce requires some culinary skill.
The key distinction between the original and modern versions is clear: no sultanas, almonds, or excessive turmeric should be included if one wishes to experience the dish as served at Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.
