'She was kind, soft-spoken': Raleigh chef remembers cooking for Queen Elizabeth II

Michael Bongiorno has been a chef for decades. He owns Bongiorno and Son in Lafayette village.

In 1998 Bongiorno worked as a high-end chef for Hyatt International. He had the honor of cooking for the queen during her visit to Brunei.

“How often does a young chef from New Jersey get to have an audience with the queen?" asked Bongiorno. "I mean it’s the queen.”

He said the experience was like visiting grandma and grandpa.

“She was the sweetest little grandma. She was really kind, very soft-spoken," said Bongiorno. "She was very funny.”

It was about a 3-day stay with special luncheons and banquets.

“What I had to do was write the menus down and fax them to Buckingham Palace," said Bongiorno. "She took the menus, looked at them, ticked off the items she did like and faxed them back.”

He said Queen Elizabeth really liked one special item on the menu.

“I did a smoked chicken ravioli with red bell pepper sauce and that seemed to be the favorite thing she liked,” said Bongiorno.

At the end of the visit, he was invited for an audience where she gave him a special gift.

“She put her hand out. I shook her hand and she presented me with cufflinks," said Bongiorno. "[She] said 'these are for you. Thank you for helping us out over the last few days.'”

Later came a letter from Buckingham palace thanking him once more.

“When I got married that’s the only time I wore them,” said Bongiorno.

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Bongiorno said he will likely be keeping them in the family.

“I have a son. He’s 16 years old and they will go to him. I’m hoping that from there it’ll be passed down from generation to generation," said Bongiorno. "I’d like to see them 10 generations down the line. They are unique given to me personally by the queen.”