Just one month after announcing plans to launch her forthcoming lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, Meghan Markle, aka Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, is preparing to further solidify her new role as a food influencer with a brand new cooking show that’s set to debut on Netflix in the coming months.
The as-yet-untitled television show will, according to Deadline, “celebrate the joys of cooking, gardening, entertaining, and friendship,” a description that makes it sound a lot like a millennial’s take on Barefoot Contessa. With this announcement, Markle joins a growing crop of celebrity cooking shows, including Selena + Chef, which is helmed by the same showrunner as Markle’s forthcoming series. But given Markle’s royal ties and her experience as an wildly popular influencer, she may soon outshine them all.
Markle isn’t new to the world of food, either. She may not have formal training as a chef, but in her former life as an actress and lifestyle influencer, she regularly shared recipes for dishes like matzo ball soup and ginger berry crumble on her now-defunct blog the Tig. In fact, cooking has always been part of the royal love story that captured the world’s attention. When Markle and Prince Harry got engaged in 2018, Markle later told reporters that he got down on one knee to propose while she was cooking him a roast chicken.
It’s unclear what exactly viewers can expect from the show, beyond “cooking” and “friendship.” (Maybe “friendship” means she’ll bring on her famous friends like Tyler Perry and Mindy Kaling.) But it’s both fascinating — and unsurprising — that Markle has chosen food as her next act.
The new series offers Markle the opportunity to distance herself from the drama and (often racist) gossip that plagued her brief time as a member of the British royal family, while reintroducing her to American audiences as something more than that girl from Suits who went off to marry a prince. Now that Markle has the opportunity to reinvent herself, a cooking show might be the best way to make people remember that she is an actual human being, not just fodder for the gossip rags. Because food is the ultimate vehicle for relatability. You may not be able to replicate her impeccable outfits or the Sussexes’ beautiful home in Montecito, but you can roast a chicken.
At the same time, though, Markle’s connection to the royals offers cachet that most other influencers simply can’t replicate. She can position herself as an expert on entertaining because she’s learned all the best tips from royal party planners. Perhaps she’s discussed organic gardening at length with King Charles, a noted enthusiast of the hobby. Even as she pursues a “normal” life in the States, Markle can capitalize on her royal experiences in a way that balances her desire to look accessible — at least, as much as is possible for someone who got married at a literal castle to an actual prince.
