Buckingham Palace: Queen's chef unwell, no risk to royals

LONDON (Reuters) -- Queen Elizabeth's head chef is taking a break from the royal kitchens after being struck down by what newspapers said was salmonella.

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman confirmed on Tuesday that Lionel Mann had fallen ill at the Balmoral estate in Scotland but declined to say what bug he had.

"He is unwell but he's up and about and doing a desk job at the moment. We don't know when he'll be back in the kitchens," she told Reuters. "There's no risk for the queen or anyone else he cooks for."

The top-selling Sun tabloid reported the chef had contracted salmonella while on holiday in Mexico.

"Lionel felt a bit queasy on the way back and as soon as he arrived at Balmoral he developed severe stomach pains," the paper quoted an unidentified royal insider as saying.

Salmonella, which is often passed on through eggs and poultry, can lead to muscle pain, diarrhea, vomiting and fever.

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