Sherman -- The 2012 Home Hospice Auxiliary luncheon had a royal touch. Chef Darren McGrady, the featured speaker at the event held May 17, spent 11 years preparing meals for the Royal Family of Queen Elizabeth II and four years as the chef for Princess Diana and her children, William and Harry. Chef McGrady now resides in Dallas and he has cooked for five U.S. Presidents.

“One of the great lessons of hospice care is that we need to always ‘eat royally,’ taking the best life has to give every moment and giving the best of ourselves to one another," said Sherry Little, Executive Director of Home Hospice.  "This was the perfect opportunity for over 250 people to come together with those that are dear to them in support of the journey Home Hospice staff and volunteers make with patients and families.  This support will help this award-winning, nonprofit organization that has served this community for 30 years continue to give those making the final journey in life the very best in care, compassion, guidance and support.”

Royal Chef Darren McGrady shows a solid gold, jewel encrusted serving tray given to Queen Elizabeth by an Arab prince. In return, the prince got a signed photo of Queen Elizabeth. "I began to figure out why she entertained so much," joked McGrady.

“The remarkable thing about the Home Hospice Auxiliary is how much fun we have while doing the important work of supporting Home Hospice in its mission," added Sue Malnory.  "The luncheon is a great example – letting folks know about the services of Home Hospice while ‘eating royally’!”

Chef McGrady was born in Nottinghamshire in central England, famous for being the home of Robin Hood.

"Nottinghamshire is also home to Stilton Cheese, one of the region-protected products," the chef explained. "For instance, Stilton Cheese can only come from three counties in England, like Parma Ham can only come from Italy and like real chicken-fried steak can only come from Texas."

A top grad in chef school, McGrady worked at the Savoy Hotel in London and later became one of 20 chefs serving the Royal Family. At Buckingham Palace, it was 1 1/4 miles from the kitchen to the dining area and State Banquets meant breaking out the 170-year-old Rockingham China, along with solid gold cutlery.

"And, yes, we did lose a few teaspoons," McGrady said.

Protocol was precise; everyone watched to see when Queen Elizabeth put down her fork after the first course.

"Even if you weren't finished, you were finished," remarked the former Royal Chef.

McGrady fondly remembers his first decade of service to the Royal Family.

"These were happy times," said McGrady. "The boys were small and everyone was getting along, or so we thought."

To insiders, however, there were telltale signs. For example, in heels, Princes Diana was slightly taller than Prince Charles, a fact not lost on the Prince. McGrady observed that when Charles and Diana were in disagreement, suddenly the Princess would seem significantly taller than the Prince.

"The bigger the argument, the higher the heels," tipped the Royal Chef.

The happy years ended abruptly. First there was the much-publicized divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, followed by a destructive fire at Buckingham Palace, and then the divorce of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York.

Princess Diana always had a kind word for Chef McGrady and he had watched William and Harry grow up. Now the three were gone from Buckingham Palace.

But one day McGrady's phone rang; it was Princess Diana asking him to come be her personal chef. He jumped at the chance.

"Now I was taking care of the Princess," recalled McGrady. "It was so different at Kensington Palace. Instead of entertaining kings and queens, now it was charities. Princess Diana was patron to 119 different charities."

McGrady remembers a very caring and casual Princess Diana at Kensington, where she was often in blue jeans and barefoot. Here, the kitchen was next to the dining room. Diana preferred a round dining room table because she felt it helped her connect better with everyone at the table.

Common sense replaced stuffy protocol. At Buckingham Palace, if William requested ice cream, it took 20 minutes.  First, someone had to prepare a silver tray. Next, proper china was delivered to contain the ice cream. Then a third servant brought fresh linen to accompany the tray.

At Kensington Palace, if William walked into the kitchen and asked for ice cream, Chef McGrady would motion to the refrigerator and say something like, "Help yourself."

McGrady remembers William's favorite was Häagen-Dazs® chocolate chocolate chip and the young Prince would often sit in a window sill and eat ice cream from the carton.

"Darren," William said once, "when I grow up, I'm going to be a motorcycle cop!"

"William, I think they've got other plans for you," Chef McGrady replied.

McGrady remembers watching Diana leave one day to visit a small boy dying with AIDS.

"If I can tell him some of my jokes and take his mind off the pain for 15 minutes, it's worth it," the Princess told her chef.

"I will always remember the difference she made in other peoples' lives," McGrady told his audience in Sherman. "If I can just make one person ask, 'What can I do to make Hospice better?' then Princess Diana's legacy lives on."

KXII news anchor Maureen Kane introduces Royal Chef Darren McGrady.

Chef McGrady shows a photo from his days working at the Savoy Hotel in London.

An engaging and entertaining speaker, Royal Chef Darren McGrady makes a face as he tells one of his hilarous stories.

Royal Chef Darren McGrady autographs copies of his book, Eating Royally, after entertaining the Home Hospice luncheon audience.