Meghan Markle reunites with women who inspired Grenfell charity cookbook

The duchess has been making regular private visits to the community kitchen since January

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The Duchess of Sussex had a heartfelt reunion with the women who inspired the Together: Our Community Cookbook, a charitable recipe book for which she wrote the foreword.

In September this year, it was announced that the duchess had been making regular private visits to the Hubb Community Kitchen in West London, a communal kitchen that supports members of the community affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

The duchess and the women working in the kitchen collaborated with one another to create the Together cookbook, which features more than 50 recipes from around the world.

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Two months on from the book’s release, the duchess returned to the kitchen to see the impact that the money raised from sales has had on the facility.

Meghan warmly greeted Zaheera Sufyaan, kitchen coordinator, and Abdurahman Sayed, chief executive of the Al-Manaar Muslim Cultural Centre in North Kensington, as she arrived.

She wore a burgundy Club Monaco dress and coat for the occasion, which she promptly covered with an apron as she rolled up her sleeves to help the women prepare an array of food in the kitchen.

When the Hubb Community Kitchen was opened last year following the devastation of the Grenfell Tower fire, it only had enough funding to open its doors for two days a week.

Now, thanks to the duchess’ input and the support that the book has received, the kitchen is open for the community every day.

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Following on from the success of the book and the kitchen, some have been launching their own projects to further benefit the community.

These projects include an initiative to give support to women who’ve been affected by domestic violence, a meal-delivery service for women in maternity wards and a healthy snack scheme for children.

In Meghan’s foreword for the cookbook, she highlights the significance of the kitchen as a safe space for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire.

“Melding cultural identities under a shared roof, it creates a space to feel a sense of normalcy,” she writes.

“In its simplest form, the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through crisis or joy - something we can all relate to.”

All money raised from the Together cookbook is monitored by the Royal Foundation, of which the duchess is a patron alongside the Duke of Sussex, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.