Prince began wanting meals that were easier to digest and was fighting off waves of sore throats and frequent upset stomachs, the musician's personal chef told The Associated Press.

Ray Roberts, who cooked for Prince nearly every day for almost three years, said in an interview that wasn't the man he saw nearly every night, "not even a hint. Not at all." But Roberts did start noticing changes in Prince's diet — he was eating less and drinking less water, and looked like he was losing weight.

It felt like he wasn't himself probably the last month or two," said Roberts. "I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot."

Prince, who didn't eat meat, normally loved foods like roasted beets and minestrone soup with a harissa chermoula, an herb sauce from North Africa. In recent months, Roberts said, as Prince would have sore throats or seem like he wasn't feeling well for "weeks at a time," he would prefer smoothies and fresh juices to soothe his throat or stomach.

Stomach and throat ailments aren't unusual in a stubbornly cold Minnesota winter, and to the public, there was little to suggest something was amiss.

Roberts and his wife began cooking for Prince in 2013 after an informal tryout with several other chefs, and he made all his meals for the musician in the restaurant-grade kitchen at Paisley Park.

Most of the time, Roberts would make light salads and soups — he said Prince particularly liked the roasted beets as well as a pesto broccolini dish. When the artist was gearing up for more shows and wanted to be more active, Roberts would scale back the sweets.


As for meat, there was none of it.

"I don't know if it was just an unwritten rule, but there was no meat there — ever," he said. "If somebody wanted to eat meat, they would have to eat it in the parking lot. And he was very serious about this."