This is what guests ate at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal wedding reception

published 21 May 2018

Ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding day, we knew they would be serving up a delicious, spring-themed elderflower lemon drizzle wedding cake, but we had no clue what other food the guests would be treated to.

Given that the cake had 200 Amalfi coast lemons in the ingredients, it probably won't come as a surprise to hear that 7,500 items of food were prepared for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's special day.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's finished wedding cake with 150 fresh flowers for decoration

Following the couple's special ceremony at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, 600 guests were invited to an afternoon reception hosted by the Queen.

The lunchtime reception was held in Windsor Castle and a delicious selection of sweet and savoury canapés were served.

The savoury canapés included Scottish langoustines wrapped in smoked salmon with citrus crème fraiche, grilled English asparagus wrapped in Cumbrian ham, garden pea panna cotta with quail eggs and lemon verbena, Heritage tomato and basil tartare with balsamic pearls. The couple also included poached free range chicken bound in a lightly spiced yoghurt with roasted apricot, croquette of confit Windsor lamb as well as roasted vegetables and shallot jam and warm asparagus spears with mozzarella and sun-blush tomatoes.

For sweet canapés, guests were able to enjoy Champagne and pistachio macaroons, orange crème brûlée tartlets and miniature rhubarb crumble tartlets.

Cheese and bacon and Coronation chicken vol au vents

Feeling inspired? Why not give our vol-au-vents recipe a go – they're perfect for feeding a crowd!

Guests were also served a selection of bowl food instead of a traditional sit-down meal, though it is thought the evening reception had a more formal dining set-up.

The three dishes were: fricassee of free range chicken with morel mushrooms and young leeks, pea and mint risotto with pea shoots, truffle oil and parmesan crisps and ten hour slow roasted Windsor pork belly with apple compote and crackling.

Harry and Meghan are said to have tasted all of the food that was served at their wedding, ahead of the big day, and it reflects both of their culinary tastes.

Royal chef Mark Flanagan was in charge of all the food said that the main aim of all the food was to let the ingredients do the talking.

He said: 'We’ve really just been trying to let the ingredients stand proud within the dishes. There’s no experimentation on Saturday whatsoever, tried and tested and predominantly classics.'

On the drinks department, guests were served Pol Roger Brut Réserve Non Vintage Champagne and a selection of other wines. There was also a selection of soft drinks included an apple and elderflower mocktail, which used the same elderflower syrup that was in the wedding cake.

It all sounds delicious but what did you have at your wedding? Let us know over on our Facebook page!

Jessica is a freelance food writer, stylist and recipe tester. She previously worked as Senior Food Writer at Future. While at Future Jessica wrote food and drink-related news stories and features, curated product pages, reviewed equipment, and developed recipes that she then styled on food shoots. She is an enthusiastic, self-taught cook who adores eating out and sharing great food and drink with friends and family. She has completed the Level 1 Associate course at the Academy of Cheese and is continually building on her knowledge of beers, wines, and spirits.