In the months leading to his death, Prince suffered from frequent sore throats and seemed to be losing weight, his personal chef has said.
Ray Roberts cooked for the musician at his Paisley Park home in Minneapolis every day for three years.
Roberts said that recently Prince had started to request meals that were easier to digest, such as smoothies and fresh juices.
Investigators are looking into whether Prince, who was found dead at his home on 21 April, died from a prescription drug overdose.
Roberts said in an interview that there was “not even a hint” that Prince was taking prescription drugs. 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,” Roberts said. “I think he was just struggling with being sick a lot.”
Prince, who didn’t eat meat, normally loved foods like roasted beetroot and minestrone soup. 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.
Roberts last saw Prince the evening before the musician was found dead at Paisley Park. He cooked Prince a roasted red pepper bisque with a kale and spring vegetable salad. But Prince never ate it. When he returned to the musician’s studio home for his memorial service a few days later, Roberts found it in the refrigerator – just as he’d left it.
Since Prince’s death, fans who saw him recently have talked about his energy and his mesmerising performances with just a microphone and a piano. Many who saw his final public appearance at Paisley Park only days before he died said he may have seemed more tired (one person who was at one of his last shows in Atlanta said his speaking voice was weak at times), but overall he was not changed.
Roberts and his wife began cooking for Prince in 2013 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 roasted beetroots and a pesto broccolini dish. When Prince was gearing up for more shows and wanted to be more active, Roberts would scale back the sweets.
Roberts loved his job and said Prince had a “higher purpose”, and that while he could be a joker or even cocky, most of the time he was a “caring, thoughtful person” who apologised if he was running late and considered his employees family.
“I wish he was still here,” he said, becoming emotional. “That’s what it boils down to.”
