Read Meghan Markle's Heartfelt Foreword to the Together Charity Cookbook

Kensington Palace announced this week that, in recent months, Meghan Markle has made multiple visits to the Hubb Community Kitchen, which was started by survivors of the tragic 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in London. Additionally, it was reported that the duchess was supporting the kitchen's upcoming charity cookbook, Together: Our Community Cookbook, by writing the foreword.

And now, ahead of the book's release next week (you can preorder it here), The Mirror published Meghan's entire emotional foreword. In the three-page passage, she describes not only her own work in the community kitchen but also the incredible impact the women have had on their community and the incomparable power of coming together over something as simple as a home-cooked meal.

"Together is more than a cookbook. This is a tale of friendship, and a story of togetherness," she writes. "It is a homage to the power of cooking as a community, and the recipes that allow us to connect, share, and look forward."

She continues, "In January 2018, as I was settling in to my new home of London, it was important to me to get to know organizations working in the local community. I made a quiet trip to Al-Manaar, a mosque close to the Grenfell community.

"In 2017 I had watched the Grenfell Tower tragedy unfold on the news; I was in Canada at the time, sharing the global sentiment of shock and sympathy for what this community was enduring, while also deeply wanting to help. Fast-forward seven months, and I was set to meet some of the women affected by the fire, at a community kitchen in Al-Manaar."

"The kitchen was opened after the Grenfell tragedy, offering women who had been displaced and the community around them a space to cook food for their families," Meghan adds. "Their roles as matriarchs united them across their cultures; the kitchen provided an opportunity to cook what they knew and to taste the memory of home, albeit homes some had recently lost."

Later in the foreword, Meghan writes that the kitchen buzzes with women of all ages. "It is cozy and brightly lit, with scents of cardamom, curry, and ginger dancing through the air," she continues. "It will take you about 15 minutes to enter the room, as you will joyfully be greeted by kisses (cheek x 3) by each of the incredible women there. You will find yourself in a melting pot of cultures and personalities, who have roots in Uganda, Iraq, Morocco, India, Russia, and at least 10 other countries. 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 flavored with carrots and onion, Russian semolina cake, Persian teas, and my very favorite avocado dip that I now make at home."

And "You will feel joyful in their company, and you will leave counting the days until you go back."

On her first visit, Meghan asked Munira, "the resident chef de cuisine (so to speak)," how she could help. She was asked to wash the rice for lunch, while Munira's sister-in-law, who had flown in from Egypt after Grenfell to help her family, helped her get the right amount of butter and fresh thyme. Meghan remembers the laughter and aromas that filled the kitchen, and considers this one of her "most treasured" memories.

"I have a lifelong interest in the story of food—where it comes from, why we embrace it, and how it brings us together: the universal connection to community through the breaking of bread," she continues. "Within this kitchen's walls, there exists not only the communal bond of togetherness through sharing food but also a cultural diversity that creates what I would describe as a passport on a plate: the power of a meal to take you to places you've never been, or transport you right back to where you came from."

Meghan adds that one of her favorite meals is collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread, a meal she remembers from her childhood. "This was always eaten on New Year's Day, 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. It wasn't a New Year's resolution; it was a wish. It wasn't simply a meal; it was a story."

She continues, "I've spent many years away from my birthplace of Los Angeles and have found that traveling far from home highlights the power of personally meaningful recipes. During my time at university in Chicago, I would wait with bated breath to return to L.A. 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 favorites, but the Southern California girl in me always craved fish tacos, and the memory of eating hometown fare infused with a strong Mexican influence."

"We've all had that experience where you have a bit of food, close your eyes, and taste, remember and even feel the first time you enjoyed it," she writes. "There is good reason that chicken soup is often credited with healing not just a cold but the soul. There is something quintessentially restorative about a taste of something meaningful."

Meghan also recalls meeting Zahira, a working mother who oversees much of the coordination at Al-Manaar, during her visit. She asked the woman why the kitchen was open only on Tuesdays and Thursdays and learned it was because of funding. "And now just a few months later, here we are…Together," Meghan writes. "Through this charitable endeavor, the proceeds will allow the kitchen to thrive and keep the global spirit of community alive. With the support of dynamic women from all walks of life, we have come together with a united vision to empower other women to share their stories through food."

Meghan describes the recipes that follow as "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," she explains. "We invite you to do the same, together, in your home, communities, and beyond."

She ends the forward with, "Great thanks to everyone who made this book possible. And thanks to you, the reader, for supporting the good work of the Hubb Community Kitchen. Now it's time…to gather, Together. HRH The Duchess of Sussex."

To read Meghan's full foreword—and make the delicious recipes for yourself—preorder the cookbook here.

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