Coronation Chicken
Cold chicken coated in a creamy curry sauce, sweetened with apricot and sharpened with a hint of lemon. Elegant, mildly spicy, perfect for a reception buffet.
Cold chicken coated in a creamy curry sauce, sweetened with apricot and sharpened with a hint of lemon. Elegant, mildly spicy, perfect for a reception buffet.
Ah, that one was a ceremonial dish! It was invented for the coronation of our young queen, and believe me, after so many years of coupons and turnips, that hint of curry on cold chicken felt almost scandalously luxurious. I was hardly a man for banquets — I preferred my X-ray apparatus to protocol — but I remember tasting it at a university reception. The sauce was mild, the apricot softened the spice: you could feel the world beginning to breathe again.
- •Poached chicken — one, cooled and boned (base)
- •Curry powder — a spoonful (signature spice)
- •Apricot jam — a little (fruity sweetness)
- •Mayonnaise — a good dollop (creamy binder)
- •Cream — a spoonful (richness)
- •Lemon juice — a squeeze (acidity)
Coronation Chicken
Cold chicken coated in a creamy curry sauce, sweetened with apricot and sharpened with a hint of lemon. Elegant, mildly spicy, perfect for a reception buffet.
Why this dish? Created in London in 1953 for the banquet of Elizabeth II's coronation, this dish marks the exact year when Wilkins, at King's College, saw the double helix model come together. It is the festive flavour of his London: the first touch of exotic spice after the grey years of rationing.
Ah, that one was a ceremonial dish! It was invented for the coronation of our young queen, and believe me, after so many years of coupons and turnips, that hint of curry on cold chicken felt almost scandalously luxurious. I was hardly a man for banquets — I preferred my X-ray apparatus to protocol — but I remember tasting it at a university reception. The sauce was mild, the apricot softened the spice: you could feel the world beginning to breathe again.
Ingredients (period version)
- Poached chicken — one, cooled and boned (base)
- Curry powder — a spoonful (signature spice)
- Apricot jam — a little (fruity sweetness)
- Mayonnaise — a good dollop (creamy binder)
- Cream — a spoonful (richness)
- Lemon juice — a squeeze (acidity)
Ingredients
- Poached chicken breasts — 4, in pieces (base)
- Mayonnaise — 150 g (binder)
- Crème fraîche — 2 tbsp (richness)
- Mild curry powder — 2 tsp (spice)
- Apricot jam — 1 tbsp (sweetness)
- Lemon juice — 1/2 lemon (acidity)
- Onion — 1/2, finely chopped and softened (aromatic)
- Toasted flaked almonds — 2 tbsp (crunch (optional))
Method
- Soften the chopped onion, add the curry powder and cook for 1 min to release the aromas, then leave to cool.
- Mix mayonnaise, crème fraîche, apricot jam, and lemon juice with the cooled curry onion.
- Thin the sauce with a spoonful of water if needed, then taste and adjust salt and lemon.
- Coat the cold chicken pieces with this sauce.
- Chill, then scatter with toasted almonds just before serving.
How it was made : The recipe was devised by Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry of the Cordon Bleu School in London for the official coronation luncheon in 1953. Curry powder, a legacy of the British Empire, was one of the few spices familiar to English kitchens at the time.
The contemporary twist : Serve it in wraps or as a jacket potato filling: 'coro chicken' has remained a classic in British sandwich shops to this day.
Maurice Wilkins · Charactorium
