A delighted Queen Camilla accepted “the most prestigious order” ever bestowed by Australian food rescue charity OzHarvest – the order of the teaspoon – at its restaurant in Surry Hills this morning.
A small brooch with a crown at the end of a tiny teaspoon, the small silver gift was presented to the Queen when she sat down for lunch at OzHarvest’s Refettorio restaurant with regular patrons who come for a free vegetarian lunch made from rescued foods.
When OzHarvest’s founder Ronni Kahn opened the box to show the brooch to the table, and travelling media, and present the “most prestigious order” – everyone in the small dining room
“oohed” and “aahed” loudly.
“I shall wear it with pride,” the Queen said, smiling.
Kahn says the teaspoon represents the power of random acts of kindness. It is the symbol of the 20-year-old food rescue operation that aims to address hunger by rescuing good food that would otherwise go to waste.
Explaining her philosophy to the Queen, Kahn described the choices one faces in a fire: You can run away, she said, or you could write an angry letter to the media. Or you could grab a bucket. If there isn’t a bucket, someone could grab a jug of water. If that fails, grab a teaspoon.
“And yes, I know a teaspoon is little, and a fire is huge, but there are millions of us, and each one of us has a teaspoon,” Kahn said.
When the Queen asked what was for lunch, Kahn said the menu was made from perfectly good food past its use-by date, that would otherwise go to waste. It comprised a crispy potato hash made from rescued potatoes with preserved peponata donated by NSW farmers.
After being greeted by Simeon Beckett, SC, a barrister and husband to the Governor-General of Australia, Sam Mostyn, the Queen donned OzHarvest’s yellow apron and entered the tiny kitchen that was smaller than those in most Australian homes.
Before lunch, the Queen did her best to help chef Jez Berwick pick through petals from nasturtiums and other flowers to decorate the meals.
When Berwick told her that they made 500 meals a week, providing lunch to 100 people suffering from food insecurity every day, the Queen seemed stunned.
“Every day?” asked her majesty.
“Every day,” confirmed Berwick.
Wearing a dress in royal blue by English designer Fiona Clare, the Queen spoke with two of Australia’s most famous chefs who support OzHarvest: Peter Gilmore, the founder of the Quay and Bennelong Restaurant; and Matt Moran, who operates 13 Sydney restaurants including Aria and Chiswick Gardens.
She met OzHarvest’s chair Lawrence Goldstone and its chief executive James Goth, and greeted its volunteers warmly.
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