CORD and The Coronation

At the beginning of May, we saw the coronation of King Charles III, the nations first monarch in the last 70 years having succeeded his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The nation celebrated, and so did we.

The coronation is special to CORD because of the history between Le Cordon Bleu and the royal family. In 1953, Le Cordon Bleu was asked to create a coronation luncheon for Queen Elizabeth II, which led to the creation of “Poulet Reine Elizabeth” ,  or coronation chicken, as it’s commonly known today. The recipe was created by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry, who relaunched the first branch of Le Cordon Bleu in London, Au Petit Cordon Bleu in 1945. What makes this dish special is the sentimentality it brings; it makes you think of picnics, street parties and celebration, and, it is also accessible, unlike what you would normally associate with royalty. The recipe has been adapted and adjusted through the years, being added to salads, the protein being changed, spices adjusted and so on, but still held true to it’s origins.

You can read more about Le Cordon Bleu’s history here.

To celebrate the coronation, CORD offered a special menu in honour of King Charles III, created by our Director of Culinary Arts and Le Cordon Bleu alumni, Chef Emil Minev. The menu was inspired by The King’s ethos around sustainability, featuring at its heart the Coronation Lamb; a beautiful dish of Organic British lamb with forest mushrooms, comprising of seared lamb loin, dry slow roasted crispy shoulder, slow cooked porcini mushroom and pancetta compote, pickled girolles, garlic cream, lamb jus and savoy cabbage. For visitors wishing to dine in our café, we offered the classic coronation chicken, served in a brioche bun and a layer of green lettuce salad, and a fruit tart topped with a delicate golden crown.

The country saw street parties and picnics happen all weekend, even in the rain. We wanted to join in the celebrations, so we partnered with one of our neighbouring businesses, One City London, to offer a give away as part of their Coronation initiative. Until the end of June, we have a giveaway running with four prizes up for grabs to our customers. In the restaurant and café, there are four crowns hidden, each with a prize attached, for our customers to claim. Any customers visiting or having dinner with us are in with a chance of claiming one of these prizes.

The coronation menu may not be available, but our a la carte and tastings menus are still available to you. Book your table now!

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