Duchess of Sussex's mother hails 'power of women' as she is surprise guest at Grenfell book launch

The Duchess of Sussex's mother has paid tribute to the "power of women" as she made a surprise appearance at the launch of a Grenfell kitchen book launch.

The Duchess, who hosted a lunch for the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen and their families, said she had felt “immediately embraced” by the women of the kitchen who made her feel welcome on a personal level.

Joined by her mother Doria Ragland, who is visiting from Los Angeles, she helped make chapatis and turned koftas on a grill as she launched the Together cookbook in a tent at Kensington Palace.

Standing with a small group of Hubb kitchen cooks, Ms Ragland gave an insight into where her daughter's own beliefs have come from. “The power of women,” she said. “We make things happens. We're curious, we say yes, we show up. I'm inspired.”

In a speech to guests, Ms Markle said the project had been a “tremendous labour of love”.

“I had just recently moved to London and I felt so immediately embraced by the women of the kitchen. Your warmth and your kindness, and also to be in this city and see in this one small room how multicultural it was.

“I felt, on a personal level, so proud to live in a city that can have so much diversity. That there are 12 countries represented in this one small room, is pretty outstanding.”

Ms Ragland was the surprise guest at the lunch time event on Perk’s Field, outside the Palace.

Sitting in the front seat of a Landrover Discovery with her daughter and son-in-law in the back, she stepped out the greeting waiting guests including Hubb coordinator Zahira Ghaswala, with the words: “Hi, I’m Meg’s mom.”

Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of publisher Penguin Random House, told Ms Ragland she must feel “very proud” of the Duchess and her work on the cookbook.

“Head over heels,” she replied.

The Duchess embraced her friends at the kitchen warmly with three kisses, visibly excited at the success of the book this week and the day of the launch.

The trio, who at one point stood with their arms around one another in a line, made their way around four food stations, with the Duchess getting stuck in to help cook while her mother and husband watched on proudly.

At the first stop, Ahlam Saeid showed off an enormous bowl of green rice.

“Oh I love that,” said Doria. “That was the first thing I asked about” [after learning of the cook book].

“Everyone’s just hungry”, said the Duchess, laughing, as she added fresh mint and olive oil to the dish.

As they made their way through tables of salad, chapatis and kofta kebabs, Doria quizzed the cooks about the ingredients, listening carefully to the herbs and spices they described.

One of the cooks promised to set food aside for the Royal couple, with the Duchess telling her: “Oh thank you, I’ll take that home and have it for dinner.”

She appeared to be an old hand in the kitchen, flipping chapatis confidently and turning koftas on the grill. 

The Duke was careful to follow several steps behind, making small talk with guests and watching proudly as his wife took centre stage. 

After guests were seated to tuck in to enormous plates of food, their hosts took a moment to look around the kitchen, based in the field’s club house fo one day only, before the Duchess made a short speech.

After lunch, the Duke, Duchess and Ms Ragland posed for a group photo with the ladies of the kitchen and their children before staying to chat.

Ms Ragland embraced each of the women with a warm hug, telling them: “It's amazing. I'm just as excited as you are."

Speaking of the Duchess’ experience at the kitchen, she said: “She felt very much at home. I'm so glad I can put the face with the recipes. I'm going to tell everyone, I met her [each of the cooks]! I'm going to make everything, I'm serious.”

In a speech to assembled guests, the Duchess thanked publishers, the community centre and staff at the Royal household for their help in making the book possible.

“On a personal note I’m especially grateful because this is my first project so I appreciate your support for vision that I had for this and seeing it come to fruition,” she said.

“And everyone behind the scenes: it truly took a village to see this through. Everyone embraced this so deeply because it’s been a passion project for all of us and for very good reason.

“The power of food is more than just the meal itself, it is the story behind it. And when you get to know the story of the recipe, you get to know the person behind it. And that’s what we’re talking about in terms of coming together to really engage and talk.

“To be able to celebrate what connects us rather than what divides us, I believe, is the ethos of Together.”

Earlier this week, the Duchess disclosed she had been making secret visits to the kitchen, beginning in January, before suggesting its talented cooks produce a recipe book to help raise funds.

She has now invited the women into Kensington Palace for a launch party, with the Duke on hand to help serve and taste the food.

On the menu will be home-made dishes from the book, including coconut chicken curry, aubergine masala and a range of chapatis and sharing dips, as well as caramelised plum upside-down cake, and spiced mint tea.

The Duchess joined the women as they cooked the dishes and assisted with the preparations, before the group and their hosts sat to enjoy the freshly made food.

Guests include women from the Al Manaar Muslim Cultural Heritage Centre and their families, members of the community around Grenfell Tower, and representatives from Ebury Press and The Royal Foundation.

Duchess reveals her secret visits to Grenfell kitchen

The Hubb Community Kitchen, named for the word “love” in Arabic, was founded shortly after the Grenfell disaster, after displaced women sought a place to cook fresh, warm food for their families.

Since then, it has become a home-from-home which, in the words of the Duchess, allowed them to “to laugh, grieve, cry and cook together” as well as tasting “the memory of home, albeit homes some had recently lost”.

At least two of the book's contributors, Hiwot Dagnachew and Munira Mahmud, escaped the Grenfell fire, while others live and work nearby.  

Video: Duchess of Sussex cooks with Grenfell community 

The idea for the Hubb cookbook came from the Duchess herself, after she asked coordinator Zahira Ghaswala how often the kitchen was open and was surprised to learn it could only stretch to two days, due to limitations on funding.

"We can do a cookbook," the Duchess replied.

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:  “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: “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.”

Book profits will go towards keeping kitchen open

The book, which is out today, 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”.

Before meeting Prince Harry, the Duchess ran a lifestyle blog in which she recorded her favourite recipes, and is known to have volunteered in a soup kitchen as a young woman.

Published by Ebury Press, Together: Our Community Cookbook costs £9.99.

The Royal Foundation is administering the transfer of funds from the sale' to the Hubb Community Kitchen and related projects.

A spokesman said profits will help keep the kitchen open for up to seven days a week and to widen its reach to others in the community.