Sir Tony Blair reveals he instructed Chinese leaders to cease serving him ‘unhappy Western lamb chops’ on state visits when he was Prime Minister

When Sir Tony Blair visited China as Prime Minister, he was looking forward to the finest culinary delights that the country had to offer.

Instead, he has revealed, what was served on his plate at a state banquet was a ‘very sad looking lamb chop’ which left him so disappointed that he told Chinese dignitaries to stop serving him Western food during his visits there and should proudly serve their local cuisine to foreign politicians who visit China.

Speaking to River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers on her podcast Ruthie’s Table 4, Sir Tony, 71, said: ‘I often say to the leaders I’m dealing with, “If you’re giving a dinner to foreign leaders (then) serve your local produce and your local cuisine.

The former Prime Minister last month addressed a crowd during the first day of the Bali International Air Show

‘I remember when I first went to China they would serve you Western food: they would serve you a very sad looking lamb chop.

‘I remember having a conversation saying ‘you’ve got one of the great cuisines in the world – serve that’.

‘It’s an important thing if you want to showcase your country.’

He was forced to make the intervention after a particularly uninspiring meal served when he was on a state visit to the China.

Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair London Millennium Celebration At The Dome, London, New Year’s in January 2000

Princess Anne, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair and his wife Cherie London Millennium Celebration At The Dome, London, on New Year’s celebrations in January 2000

The Labour politician visited China twice in his first five years in office. He came to Beijing in 1998, a year after Hong Kong’s return to China, and visited the Chinese capital again in 2003.

Sir Tony also recalled a visit to France to celebrate Britain’s collaboration with the French on the Airbus A380.

During the trip he dined with French president Jacques Chirac, who thought Blair was ‘a bit eccentric’ after the Labour PM gushed about French food and wine.

But it was not reciprocated by his French counterpart who didn’t didn’t drink wine and wasn’t very interested in food.

Tony Blair talks to Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs on the first day of the Bal International Air Show September 2024

Sir Tony said: ‘We visited Toulouse, which is where part of the [Airbus 380] plane was being built and so the leaders all went there, and Jacques Chirac was the president at the time.

‘I remember after we visited the plant and saw the plane, we sat down and we had a cassoulet. It was unbelievably good. The funny thing was Jacques Chirac was someone I actually, despite our disagreements politically from time to time, I liked greatly.

‘But the strange thing about Jacques was he didn’t drink wine. He’s the French president. Didn’t drink wine and I don’t think he was very interested in food. He was talking to me about the Airbus A380 and I was saying to him, ‘Jacques, you gotta understand, this food is absolutely unbelievable’.

‘And I think he’s thought I was a bit eccentric after time, because I was calling the chef over and talking to him. That was a memorable meal.’

Tony Blair was speaking to the River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers who hosts a podcast Ruthie’s Table

The politician, who has been executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change since 2016, also recalled the ‘poor’ quality of British food in the 1970s and 80s.

He said: ‘We used to do this strange thing in back in the old days in Britain, where you just boil these things, you just boil them, and they’d just be there boiled, and usually over boiled. So it was not a pleasant experience.’

The former MP, who was knighted in by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, also remembered the food in his former Sedgefield constituency.

Tony Blair was speaking to the River Cafe owner Ruth Rogers who hosts a podcast Ruthie’s Table

He said: ‘I remember I represented, a North East constituency near to where I was brought up. Now it is much, much better, by the way, but at the time, when I first came there, the food was poor.

‘I used to have this debate with people where they’d say, “Yeah, but you know, working class people, they’re not so interested in fancy food and all the rest.”’

‘And I would say, “I can’t believe anyone’s not interested in food.” It’s a ridiculous piece of snobbery to think that. If you come from a working class background, maybe you can’t afford some of the fancy dishes, but why would you want to eat bad food rather than good?’