2011's second royal wedding dinner also emphasizes local ingredients

(AFP PHOTO / VALERY HACHE)

With just a few days left before the "other" royal wedding in Monaco is set to bedazzle TV and internet audiences, details of the royal dinner have emerged - and there are a few similarities to the feast held in honor of the nuptials of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Though lacking much of the media frenzy surrounding the royal British marriage that took place April 29, the wedding of Prince Albert of Monaco and South African Olympic swimming champion Charlene Wittstock also promises to be a lavish, extravagant affair, with a dinner menu helmed by Michelin-starred celebrity French chef Alain Ducasse.

And like the British feast, which was overseen by Swiss chef Anton Mosimann, the official royal wedding banquet on July 2 will be built around local, sustainable, ethical ingredients and pay homage to the prince's childhood.

Ducasse, who holds 19 Michelin stars, will be preparing the meal of his already decorated lifetime when he oversees the three course dinner for 500 glittering, well-heeled Monaco wedding guests.

According to The Monaco Times , all produce will be harvested from the Grimaldi Roc Agel estate on the morning of the dinner to make sure everything is as fresh as possible, and fulfill the prince's request that ingredients come from within a six-mile (10-kilometer radius) from the Principality of Monaco.

The flavors will be reminiscent of the prince's childhood, as he spent much of his youth on the estate.

Fresh prawns from Liguria will also be featured on the menu, and nine "unstressed cows" from the Roc Agel property will provide unpasteurized milk for the dessert that's to cap off the meal.

When Prince Charles hosted the royal wedding dinner, he too asked Mosimann to source local, sustainable ingredients.

Similarly, while Prince Albert will be evoking the tastes and smells of his childhood, the Duke of Cambridge also requested a separate wedding cake made from McVitie's chocolate cookies in honor of a royal family recipe he enjoyed as a child.

Perhaps the only exception to the six-mile radius rule will be the serving of South African wines in tribute to the bride's country.

Ducasse has 27 restaurants in eight countries, and most recently made his first foray into Russia with the opening of Mixin St. Petersburg .

Monegasque gastronomy, meanwhile, is heavy on French influences but also has its own specialties like fougasse, a pastry decorated with nuts and almonds, and stocafi, dried cod cooked in a rich tomato sauce.