Broadstone chef's royal appointments (From Bournemouth Echo)

Broadstone chef's royal appointments

8:00pm Sunday 7th March 2010 in

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ALTHOUGH it happened six years ago, Darren Blunden still cringes at the memory of his first encounter with Prince Charles, the man he calls “The Boss”.

The royal chef had just started working at the Palace and was struggling to open a gate because he was carrying several heavy cases of bottled water.

“Suddenly there was a voice behind me saying, ‘Can I help you with that?’ I turned round, and it was him,” says Darren.

“I was supposed to say, ‘Good afternoon Your Royal Highness’, but I was nervous, so I said something like, ‘Thanks mate’.

“When I told the housekeeper that I’d messed up, he asked me if he Prince Charles had laughed. I said that he had, and he said, ‘That’s OK then’, and it’s been great ever since!”

Darren, 33, is joint owner of Brambles restaurant in Broadstone, which opened last November, although he still caters for the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall several times a month.

“I see her more often than him, and I think she’s a wonderful lady,” says Darren. “She’s like your favourite auntie, an absolutely lovely woman.”

As if to validate his royal connections, Darren’s mobile phone rings, and he takes a call from Tom Parker Bowles, Camilla’s son.

Although Darren has signed a confidentiality agreement that restricts how much information he can give about working for the country’s second most senior monarch, he admits that Charles does have some “unusual” dietary requirements.

The only one he’s willing share, though, is the Prince’s penchant for a special seeded parmesan loaf, which he likes “more toasted than most people would”.

He admits Charles is “a character”, but he clearly holds his famous employer in high esteem.

“He’s an amazing person. I can’t speak highly enough of him,” says Darren.

“He meets thousands of people every week, and always has to be polite and interested in everything they say.

“If there’s a room of 300 people, he will try to speak to everybody.

“But he is genuinely interested and he has an amazing memory for people and places.”

Before landing his role as a royal contract caterer, Darren worked with some of the country’s top chefs and prepared meals for lords, ladies and celebrities including the Queen (of Pop) Madonna.

His work for the Prince of Wales can range from catering for 400 at a charity function at Buckingham Palace to preparing dinner for 40 of HRH’s inner circle at Clarence House.

“Most of it is connected with his charity work. He works so hard. I don’t think we celebrate the royal family enough for what they do.

“They’ve always done more for me than I’d have ever expected.”

Darren is also a big fan of Princes William and Harry. “The first time I met them they asked if they could have one of the strawberries I was preparing. They’re always extremely polite and friendly. I’ve got a lot of time for them.”

Menus of some of Darren’s royal functions are now framed and adorn the walls of his new restaurant in Moor Road, which specialises in using fresh local produce. “I love cooking anything that is slightly complicated. The harder it is, the more skill that’s involved. We make all our own stocks, breads and everything here.”

Running a restaurant and catering for royalty means Darren regularly works long, unsociable hours, but he says he wouldn’t swap places with The Boss: “I would take my job over his any day. What he does is certainly harder than working 80 hours a week in a kitchen!”