Less than four months since becoming a member of the British Royal Family, the Duchess of Sussex has unveiled her first solo project in support of Grenfell. In February, the Mirror revealed Meghan had been making a number of private, under the radar visits to the Al Manaar community mosque. She focused on meeting families who had lost loved ones and discussed how the community hoped to rebuild following the horrific blaze. Those visits affected Meghan deeply and she was determined to help in any way she could.
In summer 2017, a group of women gathered in a communal kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in West London, where they could prepare fresh food for their families, friends and neighbours. As they cooked together and shared recipes, as a community they began to connect, heal and look forward. Word spread and more women joined in – this was the start of the Hubb Community Kitchen.
Kensington Palace said: "The Duchess of Sussex first visited the kitchen in January 2018 and has continued to make regular private visits. United by their passion for cooking as a way of strengthening communities, The Duchess was inspired by how the project empowers women at a grassroots level, and championed the cookbook project as a way of ensuring the kitchen can continue transforming lives and communities through cooking."
Hear more about the project directly from the Duchess in the video below. One portion in particular sums up Meghan's commitment and vision for me. She met Zahira, one of the women cooking in the Hubb, and asked "how many days do you offer this service"? Zahira replied "two". Meghan said "Why not seven days, Zahira?" When she heard funding was the issue she added: "We can do a cookbook".
One lady recalled discussing the possibility of a creating a cookbook with Meghan: "She mentioned, how about sharing your recipes with other people in a recipe book? And I was thinking Nah it can't be true. Because you know when you dream and dream but your dream is not getting anywhere and then someone just comes and says "I'm making your dream come true".
The Duchess spent a number of days getting to know the women in the Hubb, cooking and sharing recipes. Meghan wrote the foreword for 'Together', which features the women's own personal recipes from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Duchess spent a number of days getting to know the women in the Hubb, cooking and sharing recipes. Meghan wrote the foreword for 'Together', which features the women's own personal recipes from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.
"I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together.
"Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy – in its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food, through crisis or joy – something we can all relate to…
"Through this charitable endeavour, the proceeds will allow the kitchen to thrive and keep the global spirit of community alive."
Meghan added: "I had watched the Grenfell Tower tragedy unfold on the news; I was in Canada at the time, sharing the global sentiment of shock and sympathy for what this community was enduring, while also deeply wanting to help. Fast-forward seven months and I was set to meet some of the women affected by the fire."
More from the foreword:
"I have a lifelong interest in the story of food – where it comes from, why we embrace it and how it brings us together: the universal connection to community through the breaking of bread," she wrote. "Within this kitchen’s walls, there exists not only the communal bond of togetherness through sharing food, but also a cultural diversity that creates what I would describe as a passport on a plate: the power of a meal to take you to places you’ve never been, or transport you right back to where you came from.”
In the introduction, the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen wrote: "Our kitchen has always been a place of good food, love, support and friendship. We cook the recipes we’ve grown up with; there’s no stress, and the recipes always work because they have been made so many times – it’s proper comfort food. Swapping family recipes and moments of laughter gave us a sense of normality and home. We named ourselves the Hubb Community Kitchen to celebrate the thing that we all feel every time we meet – hubb means love in Arabic."
Every dish tells a story of history, culture and family, and each has been developed to use few ingredients and easy methods so that anyone can cook these personal recipes. Together features mouthwatering recipes including Green Chilli and Avocado Dip, Coconut Chicken Curry, Aubergine Masala, Persian Chicken with Barberry Rice, Caramelised Plum Upside-Down Cake, Spiced Mint Tea and lots more.
This stunning charity cookbook is a homage to life, friendship and togetherness.
Together: Our Community Cookbook is available at Waterstones and Amazon for £10. For those in the US, the book is available to pre-order on Amazon US.
Profits from the sales of Together will support the Hubb Community Kitchen, helping to keep it open for up to seven days a week and to widen its reach to others in the community, so it can continue changing lives and bringing people together through cooking. The Duchess is supporting the project in her role as Patron of The Royal Foundation, which The Royal Foundation is administering the transfer of funds from the sale of ‘Together’ to the Hubb Community Kitchen and related community projects.
If Together has inspired you, the Royal Foundation would love to hear about it.
The Grenfell Tower fire tragedy devastated a nation last year when 71 people lost their lives. The courage, bravery and efforts to rebuild a shattered community have been nothing short of inspirational. Since the day Harry and Meghan announced their engagement, the Duchess fulfilled her promise, hit the ground running, and quickly discovered how she could help make an impact. I am incredibly impressed and delighted she has chosen Grenfell for her first solo project. It's wonderful to see her using her platform to raise much needed funds. The fact she spent so much of her time preparing this project before the wedding speaks volumes about her sense of duty. Omid Scobie revealed Meghan worked closely with photographer Jenny Zarins and Penguin Books to bring the book to life.
During the engagement interview Meghan said "Once you have access or a voice that people are willing to listen to, with that comes a lot of responsibility, which I take very seriously". This is the first of many times Meghan will use her voice for women and girls.
On Thursday, Meghan will host an event at Kensington Palace to mark the launch of the cookbook.
The Palace also confirmed The Duke and Duchess will join more than 200 young Coach Core apprentices for the Coach Core Awards at Loughborough University on 24 September. We'll see you on Thursday for the launch event!