King Charles III’s official “coronation quiche” recipe raises some eyebrows

London — Buckingham Palace dropped a juicy bit of coronation news this week, and it has nothing to do with who’s attending the ancient ceremony for King Charles III or which of the Crown Jewels may have been looted from the former British colonies. The official dish of the coronation has been announced: It is Coronation Quiche.

Let’s dig in.

The dish:

Even the palace’s use of the word “quiche” in the official recipe made some culinary commenters balk. Few saw much French influence on the new king’s trademark dish of cheddar, eggs, spinach and a few other choice ingredients encased in a buttery pastry crust.

While French chef Manon Lagrève praised the selection as a boost for Franco-British relations, it turns out that quiche, much like Britain’s royal family, is originally from Germany.

On a more personal note, Darren McGrady, former chef to the royal family, found the choice entirely in keeping with the king’s tastes, tweeting that “The King loves anything with eggs and cheese.”

King Charles III’s coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony

The monarch and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, are said to have chosen the dish personally to mark the occasion of their crowning. It was suggested by the royals as a feature dish for the “Coronation Big Lunches” that are being organized at the community level across Britain to mark the occasion.

Quiche controversy:

There’s been significant discussion about the optics of holding a taxpayer-funded coronation ceremony, brimming with jewels and inherited wealth, as millions of non-royal Britons struggle through a dire cost of living crisis and join labor picket lines to demand fair pay.

So, the palace may have been wise to offer up a recipe for coronation quiche that calls for relatively cheap and common ingredients. But that ingredient list — and one ingredient in particular — has not gone down particularly well.