Let’s get this out of the way. Meghan Markle doesn’t talk about the royal family in With Love, Meghan. In fact, she barely talks about her time in England at all. In the first episode, she shows a picture of her wedding cake as she bakes her own, and in another, she mentions how her dog Guy lived with her in California, Canada, and the United Kingdom. But that’s about it. If you are looking for tea about the British monarchy, you won’t find it here.
You will, however, get sun tea. Because that’s just one of the many, many things Markle makes from a Montecito kitchen throughout her new Netflix series. (“A” is important here—the home With Love, Meghan is filmed in isn’t the one she actually lives in the central California coast town.) She also makes focaccia, tomato quiche, a rainbow-shaped fruit arrangement, a crudité platter, skillet spaghetti, a naked cake, and about two dozen more dishes that I won’t name because this list is already too long. There are also tutorials on how to make a balloon arch, candles, flower arranging, and gift bags for a child’s party.
Much of this Meghan does while in conversation with friends, like Mindy Kaling or her Suits co-star Abigail Spencer. Other times, she does it with professionals like chef Roy Choi or the founder of the farm-to-table movement Alice Waters. Polite chatter occurs.
As do instructions. “I think the most important thing when I’m thinking about putting a cheese or charcuterie board together is finding different layers, textures, and balance. So salty, sweet, umami flavors,” she says in episode four. Episode five, meanwhile, focuses on floral arranging. “Even if you are only going to do two variations of flowers, pick two that have similar tones but different shapes,” she says. Unlike her Oprah interview, Harry & Meghan, or Spare, in With Love, Meghan, there are no bombshell reveals or accusations. There are, however, a lot of raspberry preserves.
