King Charles III who adores anything with eggs and cheese has plumped for a ‘Coronation Quiche’ to celebrate being crowned Queen Elizabeth had Indian-inspired Coronation Chicken served at her banquet in 1953. Seventy years later her son, King Charles III – who adores anything with eggs and cheese – has plumped for a ‘Coronation Quiche’ to celebrate being crowned. Unveiled yesterday by Buckingham Palace, the dish also appears to have taken inspiration from the monarch’s love of gardening, and features spinach, broad beans and tarragon. The tart was developed in close conjunction with the King and Queen Consort by the Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, at Buckingham Palace. Flanagan has been in charge of royal meals since 2002. It is hoped people will be inspired to make the quiche and serve it up at the ‘Big Lunches’ being held in communities up and down the country over the Coronation weekend of May 6-8. Quiche was chosen because it is considered a good ‘sharing’ dish to take to a street party and can be served hot or cold. It also suits a wide variety of dietary requirements and preferences and is considered to be ‘not too complicated to make or require costly or hard-to-source ingredients’. The savoury flan can also be easily adapted to suit individual tastes and diets by adding or substituting ingredients, Buckingham Palace said. ‘We look forward to collaborating with chefs and amateur cooks for suggestions on that front,’ a spokesman said, adding: ‘Above all, it’s delicious!’ The tart was developed in close conjunction with the King and Queen Consort by the Royal Chef Mark Flanagan, at Buckingham Palace Former Buckingham Palace chef Darren McGrady said the King’s choice came as no surprise because Charles loves any food containing eggs and cheese. McGrady, who worked for the late Queen for 15 years, said he had made quiche for Charles many times. ‘It’s no surprise that the King Charles III has shared Coronation quiche to celebrate his Coronation,’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘His mother, The Queen loved chocolate, but The King loves anything with eggs and cheese. ‘Made this for him many times… especially with salmon he’d caught in the river Dee.’ A Palace chef, dressed in a white uniform, embroidered with the late Queen’s EIIR cypher, and a chef’s hat, was shown making the quiche in a video posted on social media. The Royal Family’s website described it as ‘a deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon. ‘Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes – perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch!’ Quiche is known as a classic French dish, but is said have actually originated in Germany in the Middle Ages, with the word quiche coming from the German ‘kuchen’, meaning cake. Contestants on The Great British Bake Off have made quiches in the past as part of 1980s-themed challenges. But even the likes of cookery queen Delia Smith have struggled with soggy-bottomed quiches. Her website offers advice to best keep the base crisp. Smith wrote in a recipe for quiche lorraine: ‘For years I’ve been experimenting with this type of recipe to eliminate, for ever, the problem of the soggy pastry base that seems to plague so many people, myself included. ‘I will stress that the container must be metal, not porcelain or glass.’ For the late Queen’s celebration in 1953, Coronation Chicken was invented. The cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs was offered to the foreign guests who were entertained at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony. It was created by Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London. The Coronation Big Lunch aims to bring neighbours and communities together to celebrate the May 6 coronation. Camilla has been patron of the Big Lunch initiative since 2013.