With Love, Meghan director Michael Steed has defended the cooking sequences in Meghan Markle’s new lifestyle show, saying: “She’s not a chef.”
The series has proved popular on Netflix, entering the streaming service’s top 10, but has been widely panned by critics.
In her one-star review, The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky called the show “queasy and exhausting.”
Of one cooking sequence, Rosseinsky adds: “The show simultaneously strains for aspiration and relatability in a way that never gels. When she cooks up a spaghetti dish for Martin in episode one, the emphasis is on speed and ease. ‘We don’t have time for pot changes!’ Meghan trills.”
In a new interview with People, Steed said his was impressed by the 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex’s culinary skills.
“Her cooking is pretty spot-on,” said the director. “She’s not a chef, and it’s definitely not meant to make it seem like she is, but there’s just a love of cooking that is palpable."
He added: "For me, imperfection is a wonderful thing. It was fun watching her trying to get used to the kitchen, because it's not her place, so we didn't hide that fact, and she's kind of walking and looking for things.
“I really wanted to embrace and celebrate all of the mistakes and mess and all that good stuff."
Markle decided not to film the Netflix series at her home in Montecito, California. Instead she chose to film at a similar rental property down the street, saying she wanted to use a fake house to protect her children, Archie and Lilibet.
“I wanted to protect that safe haven,” she told People. “We’re a close-knit family, and I love those moments — putting Lili down for a nap, having lunch together, having sacred time together at the end of the day.
“Our kitchen is where Mama just cooks for the family, and with a crew of 80-plus people, that’s a lot of people to have in your house,” she continued.
Meghan went on to explain that the community she and her family are part of in Southern California has respected their privacy needs upon welcoming them to the neighborhood in 2020.
“Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,” she said.
A second season of the show has already been filmed, and it is set to arrive on the streaming service this fall. Steed will return as director.
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