Queen Camilla declares she will wear order of the teaspoon brooch gifted by OzHarvest ‘with pride’

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 silver brooch with a crown at the end of a tiny teaspoon was presented to the Queen when she sat down for lunch at OzHarvest’s Refettorio restaurant with regular patrons who came 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 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 said in a fire one had choices: “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 His Excellency Mr 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.

Travelling solo without King Charles on Tuesday morning, it was the second time she has visited OzHarvest, the largest food rescue operation in Australia. After her first visit in 2015, the Queen became the patron of UKHarvest.

When she left, Crown Street was jammed with royal fans and police cars. She stopped to talk with a few, asking them about themselves. “She’s lovely,” they chorused when she left.

But her eye was caught by Caesar, a pet parrot owned by Pierre Gawronski, a frequent diner at the restaurant. Gawronski — known as Surry Hills’ eccentric birdman — and the Queen took turns trying to make the parrot say hello.

Finally, Caesar rose to the challenge, and said hello. And with that, the Queen said her goodbye.