Duchess Catherine craves curry

The duchess – who is expecting her first child in July – enjoyed a spicy homemade vegetable dish cooked for her by Hash and Chan Shingadia, who run a Spar shop close to Catherine’s parents’ home in Upper Bucklebury, Berkshire, South East England, when she visited her family at the end of April.

Hash said: “She likes my wife’s cooking. We cook for her mum and family.”

Chan added to The Sun newspaper: “I’m vegetarian, I only cook vegetarian curry.”

The couple have also praised Catherine and her husband Prince William for their down-to-earth natures, having served them in their shop for many years.

Chan said: “We’ve really got to know Kate. She is really caring. She is like a human being, not a celebrity, and she is always a good customer. William is very down to earth.”

Hash and Chan were among a number of local villagers invited to the royal pair’s wedding in April 2011, and revealed at the time Catherine was a fan of Chan’s cooking.

Hash said: “My wife made her curry a little while ago which she enjoyed. I think she came in one day and my wife was cooking upstairs. She said it smelled lovely, so my wife gave her some to take away.”