Photo:Vikram Vij
Vikram Vij
Meghan MarkleandPrince Harrywere “extremely friendly” during a “fun” double date withMichael Bubléand his wife,Luisana Lopilato, according to Chef Vikram Vij ofVij’sin Vancouver, Canada.
“They were extremely friendly and nice,” Chef Vij says, also revealing that the group arrived at around 7 p.m. local time and stayed for three hours.
“They came and spoke to the kitchen staff, they were very respectful to let me choose the meal as the chef,” he explains. “I said I was going to put something together for them. I asked them if there were any allergies or any things that she didn’t feel like having, and Meghan said, ‘I love spicy food.’ "
The chef also details that the group enjoyed “three or four appetizers” he crafted “using local produce … obviously with some Indian spices.”
“Michael Bublé loved the mushrooms, for example, and Harry loved the kebabs. I got them some market chard that [Meghan] loved.”
Karwai Tang/WireImage
Along with the delicious appetizers, Chef Vij also prepared a host of main dishes for the group, including, “a lamb popsicle, which is like a rack of lamb and with marinated mustard and sweet white wine in a fenugreek cream curry,” which, he explains, he had previously cooked forPrince WilliamandKate Middletonduring their visit to Vancouver in 2016.
“It was a very big deal for me to say, ‘Hey, this is what your brother loved, and I think you should try this dish,’ " Chef Vij says, before revealing that Prince Harry, 39, “absolutely loved” the meal.
Meghan, 42, meanwhile, asked for extra chili to spice up her food, and tried the goat meat, Chef Vij says.
The group also tried other dishes, including potato cream curry and little black chickpea cakes, which were served with rice and naan. “They even actually asked for more bread or naan bread,” the chef tells PEOPLE.
When it came to beverages, Chef Vij says that Prince Harry sampled Vij’s gin in a gin and tonic, while Meghan had “a couple of cocktails.”
During the dinner, Chef Vij notes that the Duke and Duchess shared plenty of affection. “They were extremely affectionate towards each other,” he explains. “[Meghan] always had her left hand on his back … and always said very politely ‘my husband or ‘Oh, he loves this dish,’ or ‘He loves this curry or this style.’ "
“You could see the positivity in their relationship, the love, the affection that they have. The fun that they were having with Michael and Michael Bublé’s wife Lu,” he adds.
The chef explains that an “amazing” moment also occurred at the end of the night, when, as the group was leaving, Meghan noticed the kitchen staff were watching and asked if she could go and thank them.
“My kitchen is all-female staff. They’re all my aunties and my sisters and people who have worked with me for over 30 years, so they were tickled pink because they were like, ‘Oh my God, here there’s somebody so big coming through the kitchen,’ " Chef Vij says.
Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Michael Buble on February 16, 2024 in Vancouver, Canada.Karwai Tang/WireImage
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
As well as touring the kitchen, Vij notes a sweet moment took place between Prince Harry and the women working there. “It was very respectful,” he says, explaining that Harry “went up and [playfully] asked the kitchen ladies, ‘Who cooked the lamb?’ " to which he says the kitchen staff replied, “We all did.““It was so cute,” Chef Vij adds, noting that the couple also posed for photos in the kitchen with himself and his staff.
After their dinner, the chef says he gifted the Duke and Duchess special tokens to remind them of their time at the restaurant.
“I gave them our Vij’s cookbook at the end, signed to them, and I gave Harry a little bottle of the Vij’s gin ‘cause he liked the gin and tonic a lot,” he says.
And despite being a group of incredibly well-known people, the chef highlights that the dinner was a delightfully low-key event.
“The most beautiful part was that even the diners knew that they were sitting there and having dinner, and nobody bothered them. It was just a beautiful, magical evening for all of us. I cannot thank them enough for coming,” he says, adding, “We loved it, and overall it was a beautiful evening.”
Bublé’s updated lyrics honored Prince Harry as a “visionary” and also delivered “healing wishes” toKing Charles, who is currentlyundergoing cancer treatmentafter he announced earlier this month that he had been diagnosed with the illness.
source: people.com
