In the forward for a new cookbook, Prince William spoke emotionally about the importance of a hot meal and a place to stay, especially right now in the midst of a pandemic.
Following in the footsteps of his mother Princess Diana, who supported the organization before him, the royal has been a patron of the homelessness charity The Passage since 2019 after first visiting as a child in 1993. Which is how William came to write the introduction for the group's new 40th-anniversary fundraising cookbook, A Taste of Home, even though he confessed he's “the first to admit that I am not an excellent chef. The last time I was allowed into the kitchens at The Passage they very sensibly kept me in the role of sous-chef (aka carrot-chopper).”
Despite not necessarily being a whiz in the kitchen, he added that he does have fond memories of the meal he helped to prepare. “On that occasion I ‘made’ a spaghetti bolognaise (recipe on page 101)," he writes. “The dish smelt amazing – probably because I didn’t cook it. But what struck me most was how sharing a hot meal in the canteen at The Passage makes people who are experiencing homelessness feel right at home.”
He continued, “Having a place to call home is precious. All of us will have felt the strain of staying in our homes during the Coronavirus lockdown. But for those without a place to call home, the pandemic has been even more frightening.” At the height of the pandemic, The Passage set up a mobile “Food Hub,” which provided hot, nutritious meals to over 300 people every day.
Prince William isn't the only famous name that can be found within the pages of A Taste of Home, it also includes recipes from 100 prominent British celebrities, including Nigella Lawson, Sir Paul McCartney, and Great British Bake Off star Mary Berry. The result is a book the royal calls a manifestation of “the amazing community spirit and care for the vulnerable shown by our nation.”
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