Meghan dishes out the love as she reunites with Grenfell survivors at charity kitchen
THE Duchess of Sussex is no stranger to breaking new royal ground.
But even she seemed overwhelmed at the success of her community cookbook, as she visited the kitchen where the bestseller started out.
“I’m so proud of you. It’s really exciting,” the Duchess told the cooks, who she greeted with hugs as she arrived at the Hubb Community Kitchen, which was started by the community around the Grenfell Tower in the wake of the disaster.
Following a series of “quiet visits” to the kitchen at the start of this year, it was the Duchess’s idea to publish a cookbook to raise funds to keep it open full time. She also contributed a lengthy personal foreword.
It was hoped that the book – called Together and featuring more than 50 recipes from women affected by the fire – would raise £250,000. Having sold 40,000 copies in its first seven weeks in the UK, £210,000 has already been made.
Yesterday the Duchess made her first public visit to the kitchen in west London since the book was launched to see for herself what progress had been made. The healthy sales of the book have paid for a complete makeover of the kitchen as well as funding longer opening hours.
The Duchess, who is 17 weeks pregnant, also introduced her friend Clare Smyth, the Northern Irish chef, to the volunteers. She was keen to join in the work herself, rolling up her sleeves and putting on an apron and a pair of gloves so she could get cooking.
In total more than 200 meals were prepared yesterday for delivery to local groups. Just as she embraced the community, the Duchess and her involvement has been warmly welcomed in return.
Munira Mahmud, a mother-of-two, said: “I told her ‘I can’t wait to cook for you after you have the baby’.” She added that Meghan told her she would be happy to enjoy her meals. Sarah Lea has thanked Prince William for his efforts to save her son Robbie, 16, during his time serving as an air ambulance pilot. The Duke was part of the team who tried to save Ms Lea’s son when he drowned while swimming with friends.
The 33-year old told The Mirror: “I cannot thank Prince William enough: for what he did to try to save my son on that terrible day and for now speaking out on mental health issues.”