Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were “extremely friendly” during a “fun” double date with Michael Bublé and his wife Luisana Lopilato, according to chef Vikram Vij of Vij’s in Vancouver, Canada.
The restaurateur spoke to PEOPLE about the time the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent at the restaurant with Bublé, 48, and Lopiloto, 36, on Thursday — ahead of the singer’s fun day with the couple at the Invictus Games One Year to Go celebration a day later.
“They were extremely kind and nice,” says chef Vij, revealing that the group arrived around 7 p.m. local time and stayed for three hours.
“They came and talked to the kitchen staff, they were very respectful and they let me as the chef choose the dish,” he explains. “I said I’d make them something. I asked if she had any allergies or things she couldn’t eat, and Meghan said, ‘I like spicy food.’ ”
The chef also states that the group enjoyed “three or four appetizers” that he made “using local produce…obviously with some Indian spices.”
“Michael Bublé loved mushrooms, for example, and Harry loved kebabs. I bought them some Swiss chard at the market [Meghan] loved.”
In addition to the delicious appetizers, Chef Vij also prepared a number of main dishes for the group, including a “lamb popsicle, which is like rack of lamb, with marinated mustard and sweet white wine in a fenugreek cream curry,” which he explains, he has cooked for the prince before William and Kate Middleton during their visit to Vancouver in 2016.
“It was really important for me to say, ‘Hey, this is what your brother loved and I think you should try this dish,'” says chef Vij, before revealing that Prince Harry, 39, “absolutely loved ” meal.
Meanwhile, Meghan (42) asked for more chili to spice up her food and tried goat meat, says chef Vij.
The group also sampled other dishes, including potato custard curry and small black chickpea cookies, which were served with rice and naan. “They even actually asked for more bread or naan bread,” the chef tells PEOPLE.
When it comes to drinks, chef Vij says Prince Harry tried Vij’s gin and tonic, while Meghan had “a couple of cocktails”.
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During dinner, Vij notices that the duke and duchess shared a lot of love. “They were extremely attached to each other,” he explains. “[Meghan] she always had her left hand on his back … and she always said very politely ‘my husband or ‘Oh, he likes this dish’ or ‘He likes this curry or this style.’ ”
“You could see the positivity in their relationship, the love, the affection they have. How much fun they had with Michael and Michael Bublé’s wife Lu,” he adds.
The chef explains that an “amazing” moment also happened at the end of the night, when, as the group was leaving, Meghan noticed the kitchen staff looking on and asked if she could go and thank them.
“My kitchen is staffed exclusively by women. They’re all my aunts and my sisters and people who have worked with me for over 30 years, so they were tickled pink because they were like, ‘Oh my God, here’s someone so big coming through kitchen,’ says Vij.
Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Michael Buble on February 16, 2024 in Vancouver, Canada.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
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Along with a tour of the kitchen, Vij notices a sweet moment between Prince Harry and the women who work there. “It was very respectful,” he says, explaining that Harry “went up and [playfully] she asked the cooks: ‘Who cooked the lamb?’ ” to which, he says, the kitchen staff replied, “We all did.” “It was so sweet,” adds chef Vij, noting that the couple also posed for photos in the kitchen with him and his staff.
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After their dinner, the chef says he presented the Duke and Duchess with special tokens to remind them of their time at the restaurant.
“At the end I gave them our Vi’s cookbook, I signed it, and I gave Harry a little bottle of Vi’s gin because he really liked gin and tonic,” he says.
And despite the fact that it was a group of incredibly famous people, the chef points out that the dinner was a wonderfully low-key event.
“The best part was that even the guests knew they were sitting there having dinner, and no one bothered them. It was just a wonderful, magical evening for all of us. I can’t thank them enough for coming,” he says. adding, “We loved it, and overall it was a wonderful evening.”
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Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Michael Buble on February 16, 2024 in Vancouver, Canada.
Karwai Tang/WireImage
The fun group dinner was held the night before Prince Harry and Meghan attended the third and final day of the Invictus Games One Year to Go celebrations on Friday at the Hillcrest Community Center in Vancouver, where they joined families of Canadian Armed Forces veterans and Invictus alumni.
During the day, the Duke of Sussex tried wheelchair curling with Bublé, and later that night, Bublé performed a version of “My Way” at the Vancouver Convention Center’s One Year to Go Dinner, which was held as part of the Invictus Games. countdown celebrations.
Bublé’s updated lyrics pay tribute to Prince Harry as a “visionary” and also send “healing wishes” to King Charles, who is currently undergoing cancer treatment after announcing earlier this month that he had been diagnosed with the disease.
“Who knew, dreams can come true, when life tells you, you’re far from done / Nothing is tamed, Invictus Games, you play it your way / One man, a life-changing plan, doing everything he can, he’s a visionary / Our get well wishes for your dad / You deserve every day, right to say, I did it my way,” sang Bublé.
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Source: HIS Education