Meghan Markle and Prince Harry enjoyed “romantic” dates in the kitchen while preparing for her Netflix cooking show, With Love, Meghan, insiders tell In Touch exclusively.

“Back when they were first dating, cooking a roast chicken dinner together was a go-to date night because they really couldn’t be seen in public together. Now, all these years later, it’s still one of their favorite ways to connect,” a tipster says. “[Her mother] Doria [Ragland] will take over with the kids and they’ll spend an evening in the kitchen making dinner for two.”

Sources tell In Touch that Meghan, 43, and Harry, 40, are extremely keen cooks and they were mixing business with pleasure as they ensured the recipes were delicious and nutritious before filming.

“They got out of the habit, when the kids were younger there was so much on their plates they let things in their relationship slide. But they realized they needed to make time for their marriage a priority, which is why combining making dinner with a little romance and some creative brainstorming is perfect for them,” the insider adds.

“They both love to feel like they’re making progress and a difference together, that was something they realized they had in common from day one, so mixing work into their date is actually a positive thing from both their perspectives, which wouldn’t be the case for every couple,” the insider continues. “It works well for them, though.”

Meghan’s lifestyle series, which she executive produced and was taped at an $8 million farmhouse near the couple’s Montecito, California, residence, premiered on Netflix on March 4 and has held a spot in Netflix’s Top 10 since, garnering more than 12,600,000 hours viewed.

There’s more where that came from as season 2 is already complete and will hit the streaming platform this fall.

“I wanted to protect that safe haven,” she told People about filming the show elsewhere. “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!”

The Duchess of Sussex notably ran a lifestyle blog, The Tig, before she met and married Prince Harry in May 2018. They now share two kids: 5-year-old Archie and 3-year-old Lilibet.

“My husband met me when I had The Tig, and I see this spark in his eye when he sees me doing the thing that I was doing when he first met me,” Meghan shared about the blog she ran from 2014 to 2017.

“It’s almost like a honeymoon period again,” she said about her Netflix show creative process, “because it’s exactly how it was in the beginning when he’d watch me scribbling away, writing newsletters, fine-tuning edits and just really being in the details of it. I think he loves watching as much as I love doing that creative process. It’s just been fun. This is who I’ve always been.”