September 14, 2022
Few hours before mourners pay respect to Queen Elizabeth, HDN spoke with her Greek chef, Nikos Koulousias. Would you like to know what the Queen was like in her personal life? Read his exclusive interview, to Eva Koutoumanou, for Hellenic Daily News.
How well did you know Queen Elizabeth?
I have been working with the royal family and the Palace, since 2017. Of course, all these years you start to know the wants and the nons of a person that in this case were changing when you thought you knew them.
What do you think of the Queen?
Lately, there has been a lot of talk about this woman for relatively political reasons. But for us there was nothing but the fact that she was the Queen and we work for the family.
What did she like to eat?
In general, she liked everything, there were of course some exceptions that we could not have and cook such as rice, potatoes and pasta. Apart from that, we were free to cook what we thought best. But also not to cook with garlic.
As a human being, how was she?
She always kept the protocol, but with respect to her fellow people. She was the same with everyone, she did not make exceptions or favor someone, she always kept a way of kindness. Of course, there was also the humor and awkward moments.
Would you like to tell me an awkward moment?
There were a lot, I don't know where to start from, she loved to be sarcastic especially about herself, as we all have seen lately with some video spots with her, so it was generally like that all day.
How did the people who worked in the palace react after her death?
Of course, we are all shocked. There were rehearsals for this whole scenario and suddenly the time came when everything is happening. For us, a wonderful person and a character with humor, with kindness and care for us and our colleagues, died.
What will change for you? Is there a new protocol?
Not yet, until the coronation.
How do ordinary people react in England?
They are in great sadness, all of them. Images that some have seen before with Diana's death. People, flowers, they camp in front of the entrance.
