Meghan Markle’s Cooking Show Sparks a Crazy Demand for One Food Item — No, It's Not Pretzels

Meghan Markle’s new Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, has garnered quite the buzz. While critics continue to slam the show, others have appreciated her unique recipes and food aesthetics. Viewers have been especially captivated by her rainbow food platters and the clever use of edible flowers in meal prep, so much so that the demand for the item has skyrocketed.

Markle's cooking show features her sharing personal recipes, tips, and the stories behind her favorite dishes while engaging in conversation with A-lister friends. Whether it’s her signature jam, baked goodies, or gift baskets, her penchant for all things aesthetic is undeniable. Tastewise, a generative AI consumer insights platform, reports that edible flower demand has soared +27.5% globally compared to the previous year, making them one of this season's top trending foods.

The platform cited that the boost in popularity was particularly following the release of With Love, Meghan. Alon Chen, CEO at Tastewise, told the Daily Express, “As edible flowers gain momentum this Spring, they are redefining seasonal flavor trends with a fresh and creative twist, driven by a growing interest in florals like hibiscus, lavender, chamomile, and elderflower.” Chen added, “This shift presents an exciting opportunity for brands and home cooks alike to innovate—pairing floral notes with bold fruit flavors like strawberry, lemon, and even tomato to create unexpected, adventurous combinations that surprise and delight modern palates.”

However, there is more to the Duchess of Sussex adding edible flowers to her dishes than just aesthetics—there is actually a heartfelt reason behind it. As reported by Vulture, her late science teacher, Ben, taught her that some flowers make colorful, festive adornments on food. She seemed to take his advice to heart and included the flowers in cake, donuts, crudité platters, fruit salad, frittata, cocktails, and other dishes. She affectionately calls them her 'flower sprinkles.'

While Markle can pat herself on the back for creating the food trend, not all of her recipes have been well received. Her simple and unconventional one-pan pasta recipe, for instance, was mercilessly roasted by viewers. Critics questioned her cooking abilities and called the dish 'boring' and 'a punishment' on X (formerly Twitter). They also criticized her for calling the 'spaghetti' 'noodles'. Speaking to The Sun, royal historian, Hugo Vickers, said, “We have seen them before, or in some cases they are saying, you know, you should not put pasta on the top of the tomatoes and then put boiling water on the top. That would not be done in Italy. That is a disaster.” Irrespective of the backlash, Markle has stressed that she loves to cook the dish for her friends and family.