DISH FIT FOR THE QUEEN MOTHER BACK ON THE MENU

Eggs Drumkilbo was a treat that Her Majesty liked to serve during picnics at her romantic Scottish home, the Castle of Mey in Caithness. She would also order the dish when visiting London’s Goring Hotel for afternoon tea.

The Royal Household decided to stop serving Eggs Drumkilbo after the Queen Mother’s death in 2002 and the summery concoction was also dropped at the Goring.

But friends and courtiers have since petitioned for a return of the unusual dish, traditionally made from chopped eggs, seafood, tomatoes and mayonnaise in a sherry-flavoured aspic.

“The Queen Mother was very fond of Eggs Drumkilbo,” says a source at the Goring Hotel, just down the road from the Palace, at a party celebrating the opening of Castle Mey’s new visitor centre.

“She would come here for afternoon tea with friends and ladies-in-waiting and we were very pleased to be asked to resurrect the dish.

“Our chef, Derek Quelsh, gave it a new twist, add­ing lobster instead of prawns, and it is very popular.

“It’s our quiet little nod to the Windsors.”