Darren McGrady
After 15 years of royal service to Queen Elizabeth II of England and Diana, Princess of Wales Darren is now employed as a private chef in Dallas, Texas. He has appeared several times as a guest on CNN's Larry King Live, on the Fox News Channel, Fox and Friends covering the Princess Diana Memorial, cooked on the Today Show and CBS Early Show in New York, CNN covering the Royal Wedding, Good Morning Texas, CBS 11 Fox 4 and WFAA news and the BBC and SKY television and radio in England and across Europe.
Darren was born in Nottinghamshire, England and after graduating college with the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor's degree in culinary arts he went on to train at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London.
In 1982 he moved to the Royal Kitchen at Buckingham Palace where for 11 years he cooked for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and their guests on a daily basis and catered banquets for Foreign Heads of State including Presidents Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Ford. His duties including traveling with the royal family to Windsor Castle, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle as well as on the royal yacht Britannia on royal tours around the world.
In 1993 he moved to Kensington Palace as Private Chef to H.R.H. the Princess of Wales. For four years ( until the tragic accident in August 1997) he took control of Princess Diana's, William and Harry's day to day menus and the preparation and catering of private and official lunch and dinner parties, liasing with the Princess daily.
Declining an offer from H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to become his Private Chef at St James Palace, Darren decided to pursue a new challenge in the U.S.A. where he moved to in 1998 with his wife Wendy. They have three children, Kelly, Lexie and Harry.
Since the Princess's death, he has devoted much of his free time working for causes she supported, including shelters for battered women, charities for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities and breast cancer charities. Darren is a board member of the Pink Ribbons Crusade, a not for profit charity that uses its museum type exhibit "A Date with Diana" to promote Breast Cancer awareness.
He also teaches cooking classes and his first cookbook, Eating Royally - Recipes and Remembrances of a Palace Kitchen - was published by Thomas Nelson in July 2007 with all of his advance and royalties from the book going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. Darren also has a website www.theroyalchef.com that has stories and photos of his Royal service as well as favourite recipes of the Royal family.
Darren recently became the first private chef invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York and is currently featured on American Airlines on first and business class in-flight meals between Europe and the USA.
After 15 years of royal service to Queen Elizabeth II of England and Diana, Princess of Wales Darren is now employed as a private chef in Dallas, Texas. He has appeared several times as a guest on CNN's Larry King Live, on the Fox News Channel, Fox and Friends covering the Princess Diana Memorial, cooked on the Today Show and CBS Early Show in New York, CNN covering the Royal Wedding, Good Morning Texas, CBS 11 Fox 4 and WFAA news and the BBC and SKY television and radio in England and across Europe.
Darren was born in Nottinghamshire, England and after graduating college with the U.S. equivalent of a bachelor's degree in culinary arts he went on to train at the prestigious Savoy Hotel in London.
In 1982 he moved to the Royal Kitchen at Buckingham Palace where for 11 years he cooked for the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh and their guests on a daily basis and catered banquets for Foreign Heads of State including Presidents Bush, Clinton, Reagan and Ford. His duties including traveling with the royal family to Windsor Castle, Sandringham House and Balmoral Castle as well as on the royal yacht Britannia on royal tours around the world.
In 1993 he moved to Kensington Palace as Private Chef to H.R.H. the Princess of Wales. For four years ( until the tragic accident in August 1997) he took control of Princess Diana's, William and Harry's day to day menus and the preparation and catering of private and official lunch and dinner parties, liasing with the Princess daily.
Declining an offer from H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to become his Private Chef at St James Palace, Darren decided to pursue a new challenge in the U.S.A. where he moved to in 1998 with his wife Wendy. They have three children, Kelly, Lexie and Harry.
Since the Princess's death, he has devoted much of his free time working for causes she supported, including shelters for battered women, charities for children with chronic illnesses and disabilities and breast cancer charities. Darren is a board member of the Pink Ribbons Crusade, a not for profit charity that uses its museum type exhibit "A Date with Diana" to promote Breast Cancer awareness.
He also teaches cooking classes and his first cookbook, Eating Royally - Recipes and Remembrances of a Palace Kitchen - was published by Thomas Nelson in July 2007 with all of his advance and royalties from the book going to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation. Darren also has a website www.theroyalchef.com that has stories and photos of his Royal service as well as favourite recipes of the Royal family.
Darren recently became the first private chef invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York and is currently featured on American Airlines on first and business class in-flight meals between Europe and the USA.
