Royal author Robert Lacey writes that Meghan Markle’s work on a charity cookbook for Grenfell Tower survivors exemplified a “spontaneous and natural hands‑on Diana style of engagement.” In his book Battle of Brothers, Lacey describes the then‑Duchess‑to‑be making unpublicised trips to the Hubb Community Kitchen, where she learned to cook with women who had been affected by the 2017 fire.
Lacey said the visits began about six months after the Grenfell Tower blaze, which remains Britain’s worst residential fire since the Second World War. The kitchen, founded in the basement of a local mosque and named using the Arabic word for “love,” brought together residents and survivors. Inspired by recipes and conversations there, Meghan collaborated with Hubb cooks to produce Together: Our Community Cookbook, published in September 2018 and featuring 50 recipes with a foreword by the Duchess.
The cookbook was launched publicly on Sept. 20, 2018, at an outdoor event in the grounds of Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, attended the garden launch and Lacey recounts that the event included members of the Hubb kitchen wearing national dress and sampling dishes. Lacey also noted a lighter moment in which Prince Harry was filmed reaching for samosas on display.
Meghan described the project as a “labour of love” and a “passion project” she had worked on with the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen for about nine months. At the launch she framed the book as “more than a cookbook,” saying food carried stories that allowed people to “connect, share and look forward.” In the Sussexes’ Netflix series Harry & Meghan, the Duchess said many survivors were living in hotels and given vouchers for fast food, and recounted visiting the mosque‑based project repeatedly before deciding to create the cookbook to help sustain the kitchen.
The cookbook was originally intended to raise about £250,000 to keep the Hubb Community Kitchen operating. Reporting in 2024 by Marie Claire said the book raised approximately £911,000 and sold more than 130,000 copies in its first six months. The additional funds reportedly enabled a 2019 refurbishment of the kitchen, allowing it to open seven days a week.
Support for the project came from a range of figures. Lacey described the initiative as a notable early example of the “fresh human touch” the couple brought to royal engagements, and public responses included praise from friends such as former tennis player Serena Williams. The Duchess later said the cookbook launch was the first speech she made as a member of the Royal Family.
Observers and commentators have since pointed to the Hubb cookbook as one of Meghan’s most tangible undertakings during her time as a senior royal, and it is frequently cited in discussions of her community engagement. Lacey’s account places the project in a lineage with hands‑on royal charity work, drawing a parallel to the style associated with Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Hubb Community Kitchen continues to be referenced in reports on Grenfell recovery work and on community food projects that emerged after the fire. The cookbook remains available commercially and its proceeds and the subsequent refurbishment of the kitchen are cited by supporters as evidence of a sustained, practical impact from the initiative.