In her Netflix series With Love trailer, Meghan says: ‘We are not in the pursuit of perfection, we are in the pursuit of joy.’ The show, an hour-long affair containing some cooking tips, some gardening tips, and some hosting tips but with a strong emphasis on food, is set to debut on January 15. The series features Meghan sharing meals with her high-profile friends, from focaccia to tiered sponge cakes, inside a sunlit California kitchen. Pursuing joy is a seemingly simple, universally shared sentiment, but it has only prompted lively debates as anything associated with the Duke.
Food as Comfort and Controversy
I know that part of being a professional chef or a home cook is finding joy in cooking because I was a former food editor. That is where Meghan Markle, as polarizing as ever, remains unable to escape scrutiny. Predictably, when she announced the show on Instagram, the vitriol directed at her ranged from snide remarks about how inauthentic she seemed to be to outright personal attacks. It has become a feeding frenzy in Netflix’s comment section, with people criticizing everything from the setting of her show intentions to how she appears.
However, Meghan has focused so much of her public image on the food. Her older cooking-obsessed former lifestyle blog was called The Tig. Her 2018 royal wedding featured a bold culinary departure from tradition: For one, Claire Ptak, a Californian pastry chef, offered the return to tradition with her lemon and elderflower cake. Meghan also wrote the foreword to Together – a cookbook compiled by the Hubb Community Kitchen, an organisation supporting Grenfell fire survivors.
Even with that track record, trolls accuse her of everything staging her cooking or stealing ideas. Another guffawed, “Not her house, not her garden, not her recipe.” It should be noted that there is resentment towards Meghan’s insistence on privacy and a basic misperception of what food TV is. Ina Garten and Martha Stewart, among many other cooking show hosts, are not cooking in their homes. The cooking is natural, in other words, and glossy production values do not make it less.
Cooking as Connection
Whether her recipes in With Love, Meghan reinvent the wheel is not the point Meghan’s recipes may not reinvent the wheel, but they taste better than most. Connection is the best part about cooking food and to those sharing the food. Like stories, recipes are passed down, altered, and taken in different directions by those making them. It is not about groundbreaking techniques but about sharing baked fish or doughnuts.
Today, audiences are pulling back from complexity. Shows like Jamie’s 30-Minute Meals or the air fryer craze attest. Food media is not about talking to people who are intimidating themselves with Michelin aspirations it is about permitting people to find joy in the kitchen. But Meghan’s series works so well within that tradition as something entertaining and instructive, something aspirational yet approachable for those who cook for their loved ones.
The Real Meghan vs. The Gloss
Some also criticize the show for being too supportive of a ‘traditional wife’ image in which domestic pursuits are conflated with outmoded gender roles. Cooking for others is not inherently regressive; it is a personal and often empowering choice. While Meghan’s show does not rejoice in 1950s domesticity, it is about celebrating food as a source of joy and connection, she said.
Some have made ridiculous parallels to Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath, who was smacked with a £20,000 lawsuit for plagiarising someone’s recipe simply because both women are black and are chefs on TV. It is an absurd thing to say it reveals how deeply embedded the racism and misogyny behind the criticisms of Meghan.
Food as Peace
In a world of division, food can be one of the few things that can bring people together. War photographer Giles Duley called food ‘the opposite of war you are feeding people together, and you are showing people love.’ Meghan’s series wants to embody this sentiment. It also shows more about the state of online discourse than anything else and that it becomes another arena for her detractors, something she has not caused.
Meghan With Love does not need to revolutionize food media, but with Love, it just might. It is a glossy, polished series that sends an invitation into a monopoly view of Meghan’s world that is full of food and joy and a smattering of glamour. It is enough to leave you wondering if anything other than good food can pull you out of the doldrums that the digital world offers, whether you turn to watch her squeeze lemons in million-dollar jewelry or to glean hosting tips for your next dinner party.
Ava Thompson is a fashion stylist and trend forecaster, bringing you the latest in fashion tips, outfit inspirations, and style guides to elevate your wardrobe.
