Prince William stuns diners by handing out ‘Earthshot burgers’

One diner said she was 'lost for words' about being served by the future king

Prince William at the Sorted Food counter in central London, handing out boxed meals made through three Earthshot Prize winners on July 30. Kensington Palace / Sorted Food / PA

The Prince of Wales unexpectedly dished up veggie burgers made with Earthshot Prize-winning products, leaving diners opened-mouthed.

Supporters of popular YouTube channel Sorted Food were invited by Prince William to try three winning entries from his environmental prize.

The heir to the throne is seen in the video in a food van in central London with the Sorted Food chefs, and one diner puts her hand to her mouth in shock as she recognises the prince.

After putting some “Earthshot burgers” on a counter, he said: “Morning everyone, nicely cooked – ready to go.”

“So, for those of you who don’t know, the Earthshot prize is there to repair and regenerate the planet," Prince William went on to say.

“Everything you see here comes from the winners from last year. So the box you’re about to eat in is built (by) a company called Notpla and there’s no plastic involved. They’ve come up with a seaweed coating.

“The ingredients inside the burger are grown from a greenhouse in India from a company called Kheyti.

"And last but not least, the way we cook them has been on a thing called Mukuru Clean Stoves, and that is designed by a lady in Kenya who came up with the concept to reduce air pollution.”

One of the diners said about seeing the future king: “My brain took three seconds to buffer. Am I dreaming? Have I had enough sleep?” while another said “I was lost for words”.

The chefs created a potato-based spicy burger flavoured with garlic, ginger and chilli – with pickled vegetables served in a bun.

The video begins with Prince William arriving at the Sorted Food studio to drop off the items produced by some of the 2022 Earthshot Prize winners – Notpla’s biodegradable cartons, Kenyan entrepreneur Charlot Magayi’s stove and Indian start-up Kheyti’s Greenhouse-in-a-box produce.

2022 Earthshot awards ceremony - in pictures

After telling the chefs his Earthshot project was four years in the making, he quips, “I had hair when it started,” before leaving them to make the burgers.

“Being joined at our studio and in the food truck by Prince William was a real ‘pinch me’ moment," said Jamie Spafford, co-founder of Sorted Food.

"Hearing him explain how passionate he is about helping the planet and what the Earthshot Prize is doing was incredibly inspiring, and has already given us a lot of ideas for future projects to work on with our community."