Coronation chicken

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title: "Coronation chicken" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["british-cuisine", "british-sandwiches", "british-chicken-dishes", "coronation-of-elizabeth-ii", "indian-cuisine-in-the-united-kingdom", "curry-dishes", "british-salads"] description: "English chicken dish" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronation_chicken" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English chicken dish ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]

Field	Value
name	Coronation chicken
image	English Coronation Chicken.jpg
image_size	250px
country	United Kingdom
creator	Constance Spry and
Rosemary Hume
main_ingredient	Chicken meat, herbs and spices, cream or mayonnaise-based sauce
::

| name = Coronation chicken | image = English Coronation Chicken.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | alternate_name = | country = United Kingdom | region = | creator = Constance Spry and Rosemary Hume | course = | type = | served = | main_ingredient = Chicken meat, herbs and spices, cream or mayonnaise-based sauce | variations = | calories = | other =

Coronation chicken or Poulet Reine Elizabeth is an English dish of boneless chicken traditionally seasoned with parsley, thyme, bay leaf, cumin, turmeric, ginger and peppercorns, mixed with cream or mayonnaise, and dried apricots (or sultanas). Some modern variations also incorporate cinnamon. It is served cold and eaten as a salad with rice, peas and pimentos, or used as a filling for sandwiches. It was created by Constance Spry, an English food writer and flower arranger, and Rosemary Hume, a chef, for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

Composition

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Coronation_chicken_sandwich_unwrapped_01.02.2012_15-34-38.JPG" caption="A prepacked coronation chicken sandwich"] ::

Normally bright yellow, coronation chicken is traditionally flavoured with curry powder and fresh or dried herbs and spices, but may also include additional ingredients such as flaked almonds, raisins, and crème fraîche.

The original dish differs from modern versions in that it calls for apricot puree rather than raisins. The chicken is first poached in diluted, seasoned white wine, before being coated in a mayonnaise-based cream of curry sauce and arranged atop a rice salad.

History

Constance Spry, an English food writer and flower arranger, and Rosemary Hume, a chef, both principals of the Cordon Bleu Cookery School in London, are credited with the invention of coronation chicken. Preparing the food for the banquet of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, Hume is credited with the recipe of cold chicken, curry cream sauce and dressing that became known as coronation chicken.

Coronation chicken is sometimes said, without evidence, to have been inspired by jubilee chicken, a dish supposedly prepared for the silver jubilee of George V in 1935, which mixed chicken with mayonnaise and curry. For the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002, another celebratory dish was devised, also called Jubilee chicken.

References

References

1. (10 January 2022). "Platinum pudding for Queen's jubilee to follow 1953's coronation chicken".
2. (4 June 2009). "The real... Coronation Chicken".
3. "Coronation Chicken History & Origin {{!}} Le Cordon Bleu London".
4. The Sunday Times. (1 July 2007). "Coronation Chicken".
5. (6 January 2022). "Qu'est-ce que le " Poulet Reine Elizabeth ", ce classique culinaire britannique créé pour la souveraine ?".
6. "Coronation Chicken Recipe".
7. "Recipe for Jubilee Chicken".
8. The Daily Telegraph. (1 June 2002). "Readers' recipes: Coronation chicken 2002".
9. "Coronation chicken: The story behind the royal dish". bbc.com.
10. Buckingham Palace. "50 Facts About The Queen's Coronation".
11. Tucker, Hugh. (1 May 2023). "Coronation chicken: The story behind the royal dish". [[BBC]].

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