A royal sight to behold: It was Tuesday, February 28, 1997—the Queen had invited Ezer Weizmann, the president of Israel, to a special royal banquet to mark the first-ever state visit to Britain by an Israeli head of state. The banqueting tables of Buckingham Palace have been laid out to perfection, with only the finest dishes and tableware to be used. With exquisite attention to every single detail, the tables have been grandly assembled—with elaborate flower arrangements strategically positioned and majestic golden candelabras arranged carefully in place—the final touches are added and then her Majesty comes to inspect… With the Queen’s approval, let the royal banquet commence!
When Her Royal Highness, Queen Elizabeth II, would host many banquets, garden parties and royal receptions during her 70-year reign, the expression “fit for a queen” would come alive in real life. It was an enactment of “the best of the British” pride and perfection in every sense, every time. Though Buckingham Palace had an extensive household staff of 1,200 members, Her Majesty would always insist on being actively involved in each banquet’s preparation, from choosing the menu to deciding the seating plan… it was royal treatment at its finest. Each banquet table would be set to precision, with the crockery, cutlery and six glasses laid out in perfect symmetry, with the help of a royal tape measure. Indeed, the queen would personally ensure that napkins were spaced 17 inches apart when Her Majesty would carry out her careful pre-banquet inspection of each table!
While for most of us, being invited to a royal banquet is the stuff of our dreams, for certain privileged Orthodox British Jews, it became a reality! Many Jewish members of Parliament (the place of the highest legislative authority in Britain), along with former and present chief rabbis and others have had the prestigious honor of dining with Her Royal Highness. A Royal State Banquet would always be held when a head of state from overseas would visit the U.K., since strengthening Britain’s relationship with other countries was included in the queen’s duties.
The 1997 royal banquet—held in President Weizman’s honor—was for some 200 guests, with 50 of them who ate only kosher, which presented quite a quandary to Buckingham Palace’s Master of Household “F” Branch, (F for food), who were responsible for the cuisine. A pre-packaged kosher meal would not suffice in royal surroundings, so a solution was sought to provide the Jewish guests with a quality kosher meal to match the menu of the other guests.
Enter Rabbi Jeremy Conway, director of the kashrut department of the London Beis Din (KLBD)—who together with his team of shomrim (supervisors who ensure food is prepared according to the laws of kashrut)—provided kosher hashgacha (provision) for the president of Israel’s royal visit to the U.K.
Together with the famed KLBD caterer Tony Page, Rabbi Conway went to visit Buckingham Palace well before the event in order to effectively figure out the logistical challenges of hosting a royal kosher meal. Normally, a KLBD caterer must use their own kosher cutlery and crockery. However, this is not par for the course in Buckingham Palace, as the queen must have all matching dishes and all guests must use palace crockery.
Rabbi Conway explained to the respectful Master of Household “F” Branch the basics of kashrut and what arranging a kosher meal would entail, including the requirement for all crockery, cutlery and any other used equipment to be kashered (dipped into boiling water). The Master of the Household kept a British stiff upper lip and then duly introduced another Palace staff member, the Butler of the Silver Pantry. The Butler showed them around the incredible array of the Palace’s finest china and glittering dishes and offered them a choice of either silver or gold cutlery and crockery to be used by the banquet’s attendees. Rabbi Conway chose the golden plates and bowls, and since these were vessels of gold—as opposed to china or earthenware—they would be suitable for kashering! Indeed, a few days later, each piece of the palace’s ancient golden crockery and cutlery was duly plunged into boiling water and labelled with a small KLBD sticker on its underside (which likely is still there to this day!).
When the Butler brought out the fine bone china plates for dessert to show to Rabbi Conway, the rabbi asked if, perhaps, they had some new ones stored away that had not yet been used—as china cannot be kashered. The Butler replied in a broad English accent, “I don’t think so, Sir! They’re George III, you know!” Luckily, since the fruit for dessert was all cold, the Beis Din gave special permission for the Palace to use George III!
Another enigma concerned the wines to be served, which, of course, had to be kosher. Rabbi Conway enlightened the Master of the Household “F” Branch about the difference between those wines that are mevushal—that is, pasteurized or cooked—and those that are not. Only mevushal wines can be handled by non-Jews. However, the fine wines selected were all non-mevushal and therefore would need to be poured by shomrei Shabbat wine waiters. Obviously, the Palace wine waiters were not Jewish, never mind shomrei Shabbat.
In the end, in an incredibly accommodating move—against standard Palace protocol—the Master of the Household allowed a small number of Jewish wine pourers. This exceptional concession showed the great extent to which the Palace was willing to adapt to the needs of their Jewish guests—to ensure their comfort on every level, both regarding the cuisine served and kashrut-wise. A further challenge was to locate wines that would meet the Palace’s exacting standards. After an intense search, a fine kosher red wine was actually located in the Palace’s very own wine cellars, having been presented, some years earlier, to the queen by the Israeli Embassy and was just awaiting the appropriate event.
Rabbi Conway was present at the royal banquet itself, together with some shomrim and five Jewish waiters to ensure the kashrus of the event and witness this historic occasion. The president of Israel, Ezer Weizmann, was given a personal toast by the queen, which she concluded with a heartful “l’chaim!” A royal welcome to say the least!
Reflecting on his remarkable royal experience, Rabbi Conway commented, “The event was incredibly inspiring in many ways, not least to see the respect the Palace showed for our ancient Biblical traditions and Jewish practices—as well as to experience at close hand the pomp and ceremony of monarchy … It was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to recite the beracha upon seeing royalty, “Blessed are You… King of the Universe, who has given of His glory to Flesh and Blood!”
A legend in our time, Queen Elizabeth II deserves our heartfelt hakarat hatov for supporting British Jewry throughout her reign. Thank you, Ma’am!
