Duchess Meghan Celebrates Cookbook Success At Hubb Community Kitchen

For her first philanthropic endeavor as a member of the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex’s mission was ambitious: Create a cookbook with the women of a small community kitchen in London, and sell enough to turn their twice-a-week project—providing food to the surrounding area and those affected by the devastating Grenfell Tower fire—into a full-time, permanent operation.

Duchess Meghan and the women involved in the project had every reason to celebrate today. They achieved their goal and more, selling over 71,000 copies of Together: Our Community Kitchen since its September launch and raising vital funds for the organization.

“Meghan is delighted,” a Palace aide tells BAZAAR.com. “The book has been a huge success and its immediate impact is clear to see.”

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Just 10 months after first visiting the women of the Hubb Community Kitchen, who started cooking together last summer in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, Meghan was able to celebrate the news in person when she made a surprise appearance at the Al Manaar Cultural Heritage Center on Wednesday, November 21.

With UK sales of over 39,000 copies raising more than $260,000 and U.S. sales of 32,880 (and counting!) adding to the total, Meghan and the Hubb Kitchen team took less than seven weeks to beat their target of 50,000 copies—even picking up a New York Times bestseller accolade along the way.

Dressed in a Club Monaco coat and Givenchy ankle boots, the pregnant Duchess received the first of many warm embraces when she arrived in west London, hugging center co-coordinator Zaheera Sufyaan before they walked inside together.

“We have bonded really well—she’s part of the gang,” Sufyaan tells BAZAAR. “She was happy to be back... She’s been visiting regularly and privately. It’s kept everyone motivated and inspired people to now do their own projects.”

While Meghan has been a regular visitor to the kitchen since January, Wednesday’s visit was her first chance to see the finished results of an impressive refurbishment project funded by the the fast success of the book and support from the Royal Foundation.

Run-down work areas have been renovated into a five-star kitchen that would make any chef proud. And the communal area, where many locals come to eat every day, is now a warm and welcoming dining space.

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“We’ve opened the doors to everyone," Sufyaan says. "We don’t want to make it [about] a particular race, religion or anything. It’s always inclusive and we want everyone to feel welcome.”

And with enough money to remain open from breakfast until dinner seven days a week, the women working and volunteering at Hubb—who have all obtained food hygiene qualifications—have also been empowered to start their own projects to help others in more communities across London.

“It starts from one idea and from this one idea starts so much,” Meghan told the women during her visit. “I’m so proud of you.”

Project manager Intlak Alsaiegh, who coordinates the efforts of volunteers over the age of 55, tells BAZAAR, “Her first aim was to help us make the kitchen open every day and now it’s something amazing. We work so hard with her, she is lovely all the time... She’s one of us.”

During the visit, Meghan put on an apron and helped the ladies prepare 250 fresh meals (including roasted vegetables, Persian chicken, and barberry rice dishes) to later be distributed to homeless people in the area. The kitchen works with a number of organizations in west London, including elderly care homes and women’s shelters.

Meghan was joined by friend and two-Michelin-starred chef Clare Smyth, who catered the Frogmore House evening reception at her wedding to Prince Harry in May. “If everyone took care of their community like this, there would be no issues in the world,” Smyth said afterwards.

Working on the project has been a labour of love for Meghan. Recalling the first time the women at Hubb met the Duchess, Alsaiegh, 62, says, “All the women had been busy working and cutting [the food], but she came and gave kisses to all of us and hugs to all of us. Everyone, whatever they had in their pocket or the rings they were wearing, they wanted to give it to her because they immediately felt the warmth.”

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In addition to the success of the book, there was one more cause for celebration during the Duchess’ visit today—her forthcoming baby with Prince Harry. The news wasn’t a complete surprise to everyone, though.

Alsaiegh tells BAZAAR, “Whenever she would visit she hugged all the kids and always put the kids in her lap and sit down to hug them. She said, ‘I love kids,’ and I told her, ‘[Because of] what you did for us, Allah is going to give you the baby.’ Then my children called me [last month] like, ‘Mama, congratulations!’ and I said 'What?’ and they said ‘Meghan is pregnant!’

“We are so happy for her," Alsaiegh added. "A good heart is going to be a good mum. She loves Harry very much.”

While it’s not unusual for members of the royal family to lend their time to charitable causes, the amount of time Meghan gives to the Hubb Kitchen has bowled over many at the community center, with regular private visits and countless hours spent behind the scenes ahead of the book’s September launch.

“She has a good heart and the people here need this,” says Alsaiegh. “All the times she said she will come, she has. She said she’s going away for her wedding and visit[s] after one week. She came before she went [on tour]. She said, ‘I’m going to go for a long journey to New Zealand and Fiji, and then after that I’m going to come and we’re going to celebrate.”

With cookbook sales targets already beaten, the growth of the Hubb Kitchen continues into a very bright future, with new outreach projects that will also be funded by the proceeds. Many of the staff and volunteers shared updates on their projects with Meghan during her visit, including a group for women affected by domestic violence, a scheme to deliver food to women on maternity wards, and a project to produce healthy snacks for children.

“Now the work really begins,” Sufyaan says. “We need to keep the momentum going. There are a lot of exciting projects and expansion ahead, and we’re so proud to have the Duchess by our side.”

This article originally appeared on Harper's Bazaar US.