Key Points
- Buckingham Palace's selected dish to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III has caused a stir.
- The Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the Quiche Lorraine is not impressed.
- The coronation dish was chosen because of the King's love of certain ingredients.
It's the coronation conundrum that's only heating up. This time, it's caused a stir among French aficionados.
The British royal family last month announced the official dish celebrating the coronation of King Charles III: a quiche.
Chosen by the King and Queen Consort Camilla, the royal family has shared a recipe online for people to follow along in the celebrations.
It'll be made in homes in the UK and around the world and served at communal celebrations as King Charles is crowned monarch on Saturday.
People are already slaving away in their kitchens, .
A quiche is a widely known French shortcrust open pie with filling. The quiche Lorraine (originating from the Lorraine region in France's northeast) is made with egg custard, as well as bacon pieces.
But the recipe for coronation quiche released by Buckingham Palace uses traditional English ingredients of spinach and broad beans - though the chosen herb, fresh tarragon, is often associated with French cuisine.
"Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes, " the royal family's website says.
Now some of the buzz around the coronation quiche has been tempered by the queen of quiche experts: the Grand Master of the Brotherhood of the Quiche Lorraine, Evelyne Muller-Dervaux.
Ms Muller-Dervaux had a curt response when asked about the dish.
"I think I would call it a savoury tart,” she told The Times in an interview earlier this week.
King Charles isn't the first to attract the scorn of French traditionalists when it comes to quiche.
In February, Michelin-starred French television chef Philippe Etchebest published his recipe for quiche Lorraine on his YouTube channel using a forbidden ingredient: cheese.
Mr Etchebest's cheese addition caused a scandal in France, causing another member of the Brotherhood of the Quiche Lorraine to express his dismay at the disrespect shown to the pastry.
"When you are a starred chef, I can't conceive how you can butcher a recipe in the way of putting cheese in quiche," Laurent Miltgen told French newspaper L'Est Republicain.
