The Duchess of Sussex has sparked a hygiene controversy after sharing a Thanksgiving cooking video where she handled raw turkey with bare hands while wearing jewellery worth over £150,000.
Royal Recipe Backlash
In the clip posted ahead of Thanksgiving on November 27, the 44-year-old duchess was seen enthusiastically rubbing a mixture of salt, pepper and spices onto a whole turkey before adding lemon zest. Meghan captioned the video 'It's game time', asking followers if they understood her pun, but viewers quickly focused on food safety concerns rather than wordplay.
Social media users expressed alarm as Meghan appeared to touch various kitchen surfaces and appliances after handling the raw poultry without washing her hands. The situation was compounded by her wearing multiple expensive jewellery pieces including her £7,000 Cartier Love bracelet and her £134,000 engagement ring from Prince Harry, plus a gold wedding band valued at approximately £12,700.
Cross-Contamination Concerns
Food safety experts and concerned followers highlighted that jewellery can harbour harmful bacteria like salmonella and E.coli, which are commonly found in raw poultry. These bacteria originate from animal guts and can contaminate meat during processing, with proper cooking normally eliminating the risk - though cross-contamination to other surfaces remains a serious concern.
'Who preps with all their jewellery on and no gloves?' one critic questioned online. Another added: 'Can you imagine all the raw meat under that ring that she is literally rubbing all over that turkey? Good luck to whoever is going to eat this!'
Several commentators suggested Meghan had never taken a food handling course, with one Reddit user stating: 'Nothing says I'm a cook like cross-contamination.' Another shared a cautionary tale about their mother who required rings to be cut off due to a kitchen-related infection.
Broader Pattern of Criticism
This isn't the first time Meghan's culinary content has raised eyebrows. The video comes exactly one week before her Christmas Netflix special, 'With Love', scheduled to air on December 3.
Recent promotional content for her lifestyle brand has included a much-mocked 'hack' for eating bagels with cream cheese and a recipe for 'mulled water' using her $16 Spiced Cider Mulling Spice Kit. Royal spectators have consistently questioned her cooking credentials, suggesting the former actress makes rudimentary food preparation mistakes.
One observer summarised: 'I'd have more respect for her if she just had a show about cooking for non-cooks. She could be upfront that she doesn't know jack about actually preparing stuff.' The accumulation of such incidents has led many to question whether Meghan possesses the necessary expertise to host a culinary programme.
