The Duchess of Sussex has announced her first solo project as a member of the Royal family: a charity cookbook to help the community affected by the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The Duchess, who has made a succession of "quiet visits" to the Hubb Community Kitchen since January, has contributed a lengthy personal foreword to the book, praising the benefits of women cooking together and disclosing her own fond memories of family meals.
Created with more than 50 recipes from women affected by the Grenfell fire, the book is aimed at raising £250,000 to keep the kitchen open full time, as well as encouraging others to find solace in "the universal need to connect, nurture, and commune through food".
The book will be launched by the Duchess at Kensington Palace on Thursday, where guests including her husband will gather to eat food from the women of Hubb, which means "love" in Arabic.
It is the first solo project for the Duchess after her May wedding, and the result of months of behind-the-scenes work.
It also marks a new phase for the Royal Foundation, which has added "women and girls" to its list of key campaigning areas along with the causes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.
Disclosing that she had visited the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre in January, seven months after watching the Grenfell disaster unfold on her television in Canada, the Duchess said she had found herself wrapped in an apron and under instructions to wash rice for lunch immediately after asking how she could help.
Later, she asked coordinator Zahira Ghaswala how often the kitchen was open.
Photography for the recipe book, by Jenny Zarins, was done at a kitchen at Kensington Palace. Photo / Jenny Zarins, Ebury Press
Hearing that it could only stretch to two days, due to limitations on funding, the Duchess suggested a cookbook as a way to raise enough money to allow the community's women to gather there every day "to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together".
The communal kitchen, founded in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire, allows women without their own cooking facilities to prepare fresh food for their families, friends and neighbours.
"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," the Duchess said, in a foreword.
"Through this charitable endeavour, the proceeds will allow the kitchen to thrive and keep the global spirit of community alive."
In her previous life as an actress and lifestyle blogger, the Duchess - then Meghan Markle - regularly shared her favourite recipes and restaurant tips.
Since her engagement to Prince Harry, she has made private visits to see those affected by Grenfell, building on the public work of her in-laws.
The Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex have both visited the site, with the former taking part in a DIY SOS project to rebuild the community, while the Queen herself visited survivors in the immediate aftermath of the fire.
Describing how it takes visitors 15 minutes to enter the Hubb kitchen "joyfully greeted by kisses by each of the incredible women there", the Duchess said of her visits: "You should undoubtedly arrive on an empty stomach because upon departure you will have been stuffed to the gills with samosas flecked with cinnamon, chapatis flavoured with carrots and onion, Russian Semolina cake and my very favourite avocado dip that I now make at home".
"The kitchen buzzes with women of all ages; women who have lived and seen life; laughing chatting, sharing a cup of tea and a story, while children play on the floor or are rocked to sleep in their strollers," she added.
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. I could not be more excited about it and proud of you. It’s beautiful - diversity, inclusivity, coming together in grief or joy pic.twitter.com/RkB2O35qmG
The book, which is out on September 20, also sees the Duchess write of her own evocative food memories, praising "the power of a meal to take you to places you've never been, or transport you right back to where you came from".
Speaking of her favourite meal of collard greens, black-eyed peas and cornbread, she described "a meal I would look forward to throughout my childhood: the smell of yellow onions simmering amongst a slow-cooked pot of greens from my grandma's back garden... a tradition steeped in ancestral history where each component has a meaning: the black-eyed peas for prosperity, the greens for wealth, the cornbread for health and nourishment."
She added: "During my time at university in Chicago I would wait with bated breath to return to LA for the winter break and have a bowl of my mother's gumbo.
"And while living in Toronto (seven years of being adopted by that beautiful place for work), I embraced poutine and several other Canadian culinary favourites, but the Southern California girl in me always craved fish tacos, and the memory of eating hometown fare infused with a strong Mexican influence".
She concluded: "This cookbook is a celebration of life, community and the impact of coming together.
"Our hope is that within these pages you will find new recipes and family favourites that you can enjoy in your own homes, because these recipes aren't simply meals; they are stories of family, love, of survival and of connection.
"From a Thanksgiving supper to a Shabbat dinner or a Sunday roast, the meals that bring us together are the meals that allow us to grow, to listen, to engage and to be present.
"We invite you to do the same, together, in your home, communities and beyond."
Zahira Ghaswala, 38, the coordinator at the Hubb Community Kitchen, said the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre had opened its doors to those who no longer had a place to cook hot meals following the Grenfell Tower fire.
"The duchess came round to have a look at the service we were providing. She just got stuck in straight away. The next minute I realised there was an apron put on her, and she was washing rice!
"It was just all natural - the joy, the happiness. The environment just makes everyone feel you want to join in. She was loving - the recipes, the flavours that were put together. She tasted some of our menus, and she asked me, 'Let's make a cookbook'."
She said the Duchess had visited several times since January and "got stuck in with helping, preparing, serving, making chapatis."
Photography for the recipe book, by Jenny Zarins, was done at a kitchen at Kensington Palace.
The Royal Foundation is administering the transfer of funds from the sale of 'Together: Our Community Cookbook' to the Hubb Community Kitchen and related projects.
The book has already reached number three in the Amazon bestseller chart, which is based on updated hourly sales.
