Meghan Markle is cooking up a new project for a good cause! Kensington Palace announced via a press release on Monday, September 17, that the Duchess of Sussex will host a celebratory event at the royal residence on Thursday, September 20, to mark the launch of Together, a cookbook celebrating the power of cooking to strengthen communities and bring people together.
Markle, who will be joined by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, at Thursday’s event, has written the foreword for the cookbook, which features recipes from a group of women whose community was affected by the Grenfell Tower fire – the disaster that killed 72 people in June 2017.
In a video released by Kensington Palace, Markle, 37, explains that she was inspired to help write a cookbook after visiting with victims of the Grenfell fire in January 2018. “As I was settling into my new home of London, I met a group of women whose community had been affected by the Grenfell fire,” she explained. “And so for two days every week, these women were able to cook and share their delicious recipes together.”
The women Markle met had decided to “gather and prepare fresh food for their families and neighbors, as a way of helping the community to connect, heal and look forward, and to convene through food,” the press release states, noting that the organization the women started became known as the Hubb Community Kitchen.
Proceeds from Together, which will be released in the U.K. on Thursday, will support the Hubb Community Kitchen, “helping it to stay open and to thrive, so it can widen its reach to others in the community and beyond.”
The royal’s friend, Serena Williams, was quick to praise her pal for her charitable project. “I used to call you Meghan (and I still do) but dear Duchess of Sussex your first project ‘Together’ a cookbook bringing women of all cultures together,” the athlete wrote on Instagram. “I could not be more excited about it and proud of you. It’s beautiful – diversity, inclusivity, coming together in grief or joy – there is just so much love.”
The launch event later this week will also feature some of the women of Hubb Community Kitchen showcasing their own personal recipes printed in the cookbook, many of which have been handed down through generations. Homemade dishes (which the Duchess will help prepare!) that will be served at the launch include coconut chicken curry, aubergine masala and a range of chapatis and sharing dips, as well as caramelized plum upside-down cake, and spiced mint tea.
The Duke and Duchess are then expected to “sit to enjoy the freshly made food with their guests,” according to the press release.
Markle has long shown a passion for cooking, so her first solo project as a royal makes complete sense. In fact, her now defunct lifestyle website, The Tig, often showcased some of her favorite recipes and featured interviews with well-known chefs, and cooking is something she’s clearly still interested in. “I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen,” Markle says in the video. “Like these women, I’m passionate about food and cooking as a way of strengthening communities.”
