The Patron’s Lunch
M&S was an official partner of the Patron’s Lunch, an event that celebrated her Majesty the Queen and all of the work that she has accomplished during her 63-year reign with a street party along The Mall in London. Discover more about this special party and get inspired to throw your own!
A British affair
As Partners of The Patron’s Lunch, we worked with our product development experts to craft bespoke products that showcased fantastic ingredients from around the British Isles for this wonderful event. As ever, we worked closely with our farmers and producers, some of whom we’ve worked with for decades, to create an incredible picnic hamper for our guests on The Mall.
Guests to this special al fresco lunch enjoyed regional specialities like our exclusive Scottish Lochmuir salmon, which is slower grown for fantastic taste and texture, and slow smoked over wood chips from an oak tree grown on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
The curated picnic also featured free-range chicken from Pembrokeshire farmer Justin Scale, and tender, in-season asparagus grown by the Chinn family in the Wye Valley.
Make your own corgi cake
It's no secret that Her Majesty the Queen is rather fond of corgis, and now you can make a fitting tribute to the most royal of canines with our video on how to craft a corgi cake. Designed by one of our suppliers, Park Cakes, all you need to replicate this fun confection are Swiss rolls, a Victoria sponge, some food colouring and lashings of icing and buttercream.
Visit our pop-up shops this weekend
Join in all the Patron's Lunch fun by dropping in to one of our pop-up shops. We will have two shops, one in Green Park near the Queen's Walk and another in St James’s Park by the east end of the lake and the Inn the Park restaurant. Come and enjoy a variety of Spirit of Summer and Patron's Lunch sandwiches, salads, crisps and drinks, including the sweet Summer Macaroon selection shown here. It's the perfect opportunity to purchase your own Patron’s Lunch picnic.
Both sites will be open 10am-6pm.
Be inspired on the day at our Patron’s Lunch kitchen in Trafalgar Square (open 12-5pm) with special demos and tastings of summery British recipes.
Food made for celebrating
Why not throw your own party using our delicious party-ready food from the all-year-round Food to Order service?
Feasts for all occasions
Whether you're planning a picnic or afternoon tea, our Food to Order service has everything you need, from sweet treats to sandwiches
Recipe: Elizabeth Sponge Cake
Created especially for the Patron's Lunch by our in-house developmental chef, this recipe for a decadent yet light-as-air cake is fit for a queen. Combining ripe, juicy summer fruit and lashings of soft raspberry-flavoured buttercream, whip up this twist on a classic Victoria sponge for guests or as a Sunday afternoon treat.
Recipe: Scottish salmon and pickled cucumber discs
Ready in 45 minutes
Makes approx. 20 discs
Ingredients
½ large cucumber, cut into 0.5cm wide discs
75g white wine vinegar
75g caster sugar
3-4 slices smoked salmon (approx. 75-100g)
3 tbsps crème fraîche
2 tbsp chopped dill (leaves only)
Zest of ½ lemon
Lemon, to squeeze
Dill fronds, to top
Salt and pepper
Method
- Mix together the caster sugar and vinegar to make a pickling liquid.
- Gently heat in a saucepan over low heat, until the sugar has dissolved, then set aside to cool completely.
- Once cooled, combine the cucumber and pickling liquid in a dish (so the cucumber discs are all coated) and leave to pickle in the fridge for 20 mins.
- While that is pickling, prepare the crème fraîche mix. Combine crème fraiche, chopped dill and lemon zest in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.
- When ready to serve, drain the cucumber pieces in a colander, and pat dry. Lay on flat surface. On one half of each disc, lay a small piece of smoked salmon. Next to that, on each disc, place a small dollop of crème fraîche mix. Top each disc with a dill frond.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon, and serve.
The royal icing on the cake
It’s no secret that Queen Elizabeth II loves hats almost as much as she loves corgis. For a fun celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday, food editor Emma Sleight matches some of Her Majesty’s best headpieces to our birthday cakes.
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