RIP Margaret Thatcher. It was an honor to cook for you.

I grew up in the “Thatcher era” and admired the way Margaret Thatcher stood up to people. Whether it be the bullying unions back home or the tough world leaders overseas, she wasn’t scared to stand up for what she thought was right for Great Britain.

The highlight of my working week in the Royal Kitchens at Buckingham Palace was always slicing the lemon for the drinks tray when Prime Minister Thatcher had her weekly audience with H.M. The Queen. Although I cooked for her many times, I never got to meet her until I moved 5,000 miles away to Dallas, Texas.

Mrs. Thatcher was guest of honor at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wyly jr. and I prepared an American/British fusion dinner party. I made a display of sugarcraft flowers and sugar plaque with coat of arms for the petit-fours and chocolate truffles and she was so thrilled she insisted I had my photograph taken with her.  We reminisced about our home towns, just fifteen miles apart back across the pond and she laughed when I told her it was my golf clubs that her husband Dennis would borrow when they went to stay with The Queen at Balmoral Castle each year. (He was left-handed)

RIP Margaret Thatcher. The lady who stood for the ‘Great’ in Great Britain.