A Picnic Fit For A Queen
British supermarket chain Waitrose has collaborated with Heston Blumenthal and Royal Chef Mark Flanagan to create the picnic lunch for 10,000 members of the public who are attending the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebration Monday. Waitrose gave The Daily Meal a peek inside the Jubilee picnic hamper, which was inspired by the most iconic dishes from the last 60 years of the queen's reign, like Coronation Chicken.
The royal picnic hamper includes a starter of chilled British country garden soup of baby plum tomato soup with red peppers and cucumber, finished with garden mint-infused oil.
The main courses are a potted duo of Lapsang Souchong tea-smoked Scottish salmon mixed with flaked poached Scottish salmon, lemon, British crème fraîche, and a sprinkling of fresh chives, and Diamond Jubilee chicken, a new take on a British favorite created in 1953 to celebrate the queen's coronation. The Diamond Jubilee chicken is an aromatic blend of Indian spices mixed with mayonnaise, tender shredded chicken, and fragrant coriander, finished with peppery nigella seeds.
Sweets include Sandringham Strawberry Crumble Crunch, a creamy yogurt marbled with Sandringham strawberries and British cream, with a crunchy meringue and oat crumble topping. Since Waitrose released the recipe in May, Britons obsessed with recreating the dish have sparked a run on the posh ingredients needed to create the confection.
Fiona Cairns created the lemon and caraway Madeira cake, a traditional Madeira cake with zesty lemon and a warming aniseed finish, and a light, fluffy, chocolate indulgence cake with rich, smooth panache topping decorated with a chocolate crown and sprinkled with one of Blumenthal's favorite finishing touches, popping candy.
A "Taste of England" cheese selection with Duchy Originals from Waitrose will also be part of the hamper, that's design will be unveiled Monday. The cheeseboard includes organic mature West Country Farmhouse Cheddar and creamy Red Leicester Crunch, served with Duchy Originals from Waitrose Chutney and Oaten biscuits. Revelers will wash down the feast with Moët & Chandon champagne, Cobra beer, and Hildon water.
The Duchy Originals from Waitrose products are available to buy from Waitrose, but the other dishes are not on sale.
Recipe for Sandringham Strawberry Crumble Crunch.
Should there be rain on Monday, the picnic hamper includes a poncho that doubles as a picnic rug. Didn't get a ticket to the Queen's Jubilee picnic? See How You Can Celebrate the Queen's Jubilee in the US.
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