Duchess of Cornwall suffers agonising wait for cappuccino during Florence market trip with Prince Charles… only to have time for two sips when it is finally served
PRINCE Charles got the best of Italian hospitality at a market coffee store yesterday - while Camilla was left waiting.
The Prince of Wales was handed a steaming hot cup of Florence's finest at Cafe Barni while the Duchess of Cornwall had to queue.
Ever the gent, the next in line to the throne offered a sip - but Camilla insisted her cappuccino was on its way.
By the time the drink arrived it was too latte, and she only had time for a couple of mouthful's before being rushed onto another part of the 19th century food market.
The bungle made a mocha-ry of cafe owner Paolo Baracani's service but he joked officials had only pre-ordered one coffee for the royals.
Later the Prince put his food credentials on the line when he accepted a taste challenge from an Italian farmer over who makes the best cold cut when they met at an event showcasing Italian produce.
Charles, who makes a cold pork cut called coppa from pigs he rears, pitted his produce against that made by farmer Mario De Santis, who had taken some of his delicacies to the event.
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The farmer said later: "We are very good at making coppa because we have very good meat - so I think I will beat the Prince."
The pair met in the Theatro Del Sale, a theatre and restaurant where produce from Italian regions devastated by recent earthquakes was on display, from cold meats like salami and prosciutto to craft beers, bread and cheeses.
Food campaigner Carlo Petrini, who started the "slow food" movement with a group of activists in the 1980s to defend regional produce, took Charles around the displays.
He said: "Prince Charles makes a wonderful kind of cured meat that is made from the pig's neck that is called coppa, that's made on his organic farm, and is one of the best in the world."
