ROYAL STATE VISIT UNVEILED: U.S.–UK EMBASSY CHEF REVEALS MENU FOR KING CHARLES AND QUEEN CAMILLA

The U.S. British Embassy chef has a royal task on his hands.

The embassy prepared an afternoon tea for a crowd of over 650 guests, including King Charles and Queen Camilla, on the first day of their U.S. state visit on April 27. A video posted by the British Embassy Washington’s X account shared exactly what the “afternoon tea” will involve.

The caption of the video noted that the meal will include “four kinds of tea sandwiches, scones, desserts and several British flavours from smoked Scottish salmon to British Beef!”

The video shared the “behind the scenes in the Embassy kitchen,” the caption said. It showed Craig Harnden, the head chef at the British Embassy, and his team assembling dozens of sandwiches.

Harnden shared that they will be making 2,500 to 3,000 sandwiches.

“The calculation is based on experience and a little bit of luck,” the chef said. He explained that the kitchen is making four types of sandwiches: Scottish salmon, roast beef and horseradish, egg mayonnaise and cucumber.

The Scottish salmon sandwich contains salmon, lemon butter and brown bread. The roast beef and horseradish one is not a traditional afternoon tea flavor, Harnden noted.

“We do have the first imports of British beef, which I’m more than happy to use for this special occasion,” he said. “Bend the rules a little bit.”

The egg mayonnaise sandwich has “nicely boiled eggs,” along with “a little bit of mayonnaise,” salt and black pepper. The cucumber sandwich, he said, is “one of the simplest ones.” However, he added, the kitchen pickles the cucumbers slightly to add flair.

“The sweetness and the acidity into the sandwich makes it a bit more interesting,” he said.

In addition to the four sandwiches, the kitchen will also be baking scones. The staff will be on a time crunch, as they will be baking the scones an hour and a half before the service so that they are “fresh and warm,” the chef said.

The comments had mixed opinions about the offerings.

“Please tell me they are cutting off the bread crust!” one insistent commenter wrote.

“Of all the British delicacies, you’re just throwing a ton of bread at it!” another said.

“That’s a lot of work. They look delicious,” a more positive commenter wrote.

King Charles and Queen Camilla landed in the U.S. and kicked off their state visit on Monday, April 27, tied to the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from the United Kingdom.

On their first day, the royals were set to travel to the White House in Washington, D.C., where President Trump and first lady Melania Trump would receive them with a private tea. The afternoon was to continue with a garden party.

Other events will include King Charles becoming the second-ever British monarch (after his mother, Queen Elizabeth) to give an address to a joint meeting of Congress, along with a state dinner at the White House and a series of engagements in New York City and other parts of the U.S. The couple will pay tribute to victims and meet with first responders and families at the Freedom Tower at One World Trade Center to commemorate the upcoming 25th anniversary of 9/11.