Meghan cooks for Grenfell: Duchess announces support for charity cookbook

Meghan cooks for Grenfell: Duchess announces support for charity cookbook

Courtesy: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/17/uk/meghan-markle-grenfell-intl/index.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2018-09-17T14:24:59

VIDEO: Meghan rolls up sleeves to help Grenfell victims

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4_gtj68dg8

Purchase Book:

UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Untitled/dp/1529102928/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1537200505

USA

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1984824082/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_api_Qz5NBb7NVKW1N

(CNN)In her first solo project as a member of the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex is supporting a new charity cookbook showcasing recipes from women whose community was affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, Kensington Palace said in a statement on Monday.

In January 2018, as she was settling into London, Meghan Markle met the group of women who gathered to cook twice a week in a communal kitchen at the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre.

"I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together," Markle, who has continued to make regular private visits to the kitchen, said in a statement.

She championed the cookbook project as a way of ensuring the kitchen could operate more regularly, and it is hoped that profits from the sales will help keep the kitchen open up to seven days a week.

The kitchen originally provided a place for the women to cook fresh food for their families and neighbors, who were living out of hotel rooms after the fire, but more than a year later it has also become a support network. The women who gather there call it the Hubb Community Kitchen -- in Arabic "hubb" means "love."

"I immediately felt connected to this community kitchen; it is a place for women to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together," said the Duchess, who has written the foreword for the book.

Supported by The Royal Foundation, "Together: Our Community Cookbook" features over 50 recipes from across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, and celebrates "the power of cooking to bring communities 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," she said.

The Duchess, who is quite a foodie herself, would often share recipes from her kitchen on her now defunct lifestyle blog The Tig.

The Royal Family: Kensington Palace releases a statement on Prince Harry and Megan Markle

Photo Credit: E Online

Kensington Palace has issued a statement this morning about the harassment currently being experienced by Meghan Markle and her family including 'racial undertones'

Read the statement in full here → http://bit.ly/2ezyNzq

Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads.

He is also aware that there is significant curiosity about his private life. He has never been comfortable with this, but he has tried to develop a thick skin about the level of media interest that comes with it. He has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories that are written about him and he has worked hard to develop a professional relationship with the media, focused on his work and the issues he cares about.

But the past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public - the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments. Some of it has been hidden from the public - the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.

Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her. It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm. He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game - it is her life and his. 

He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done. He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly.