The Duchess of Cornwall has said she is “very honoured and very touched” to have been endorsed by the Queen as a future Queen Consort.

Camilla was visiting Nourish Hub, a community kitchen based in Notting Hill, west London, to mark its opening and as patron of the charity that runs it, UK Harvest, when she was asked by a guest how she felt about the title.

Her comments came on the day the Prince of Wales tested positive for coronavirus, but Clarence House has confirmed the duchess returned a negative result on Thursday morning.

UK Harvest is a non-profit organisation which collects surplus food from supermarkets and delivers it directly to charities, as well as serving at pop-up hubs and at the kitchen.

Camilla, 74, spoke with volunteers and refugees at the West London Welcome charity, who were cooking a rice-based Iranian dish called loobia polo for visitors.

A guest who gave his name as DJ, 49, asked the duchess how she felt about her new title.

Camilla told him: “I feel very honoured, very honoured and very touched.”

DJ, who uses a wheelchair, told the PA news agency he had been feeling suicidal shortly before the hub opened because he was struggling with food poverty.

He said: “Two years ago, I was desperate, in need and in trouble.

“I was asking for things from the Government, and nothing was happening, and then you get a person like me who wants to jump out of a 30-foot balcony, because nobody is helping, and suddenly get all this help.

“This place, it cares.”

The duchess spoke with every guest and volunteer at the venue, and added a touch of saffron to the dish.

In an impromptu speech before she left, Camilla said: “Before I go, I would like to congratulate everybody who is part of this, I think you’ve done a brilliant job.

“The minute you walk in here, you get this lovely, uplifting and cheerful feeling.

“What you’re doing – bringing people together and getting people talking over food… many congratulations to you all and thank you very much for having me here.”

Gianni, 59, a local resident who was visiting the kitchen, presented the duchess with a bouquet of flowers, to which she replied: “Grazie.”

He told PA: “She made me feel so comfortable, she made me feel so happy because she was paying attention to everybody and she was trying to get in touch with everybody – really, it’s been a magic moment.”

The kitchen is part-funded by a £2.6 million donation from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), and leader Stephen Cowan, 57, thanked the duchess for marking its official opening.

The visit was among Camilla’s first public royal duties since being endorsed by the Queen as a future Queen Consort.

The duchess toured Voices in Bath, a charity which supports domestic abuse survivors, on Tuesday.

Before her visit to the food kitchen on Thursday, Camilla also spoke with staff at Paddington Haven, a sexual assault referral centre in west London, and she will be appearing at Thames Valley Partnership in Aylesbury, another charity for domestic abuse survivors, in the afternoon.

Following her visit in west London, Camilla went to the Thames Valley Partnership in Buckinghamshire where she spoke to staff about their work.

The charity works to protect and support victims of crime and supports offenders and their families in the criminal justice system.

The duchess was given a tour of the company’s offices where she met with and spoke to staff.

After chatting to Kathryn McClean, who is a service manager who works to help victims of modern slavery, exploitation and sexual abuse, Camilla said: “It’s so important, (this) work, thank goodness we have people like you around.”

In a private meeting, the duchess heard about the digital advancements around TecSOS, a handset which allows victims of domestic abuse to contact the police covertly if they are in trouble, and Bright Sky, an app to help victims of domestic abuse.

She previously heard about Bright Sky in 2018.

Bill Tillbrook, acting programme director for TecSOS and Bright Sky, said: “It’s so easy speaking to the duchess about this. She’s genuinely interested in what we do and appreciates why the programme is running. She’s very supportive.”

Camilla was later greeted by a variety of guests at a reception, including members of the police force in Thames Valley and the High Sheriff of Berkshire Willie Hartley Russell, who questioned her about how the Prince of Wales was after he tested positive for Covid.

In a short speech before she left, Camilla told the guests at the reception: “You are doing a brilliant job. It is absolutely fantastic.”

Nikki Ross, chief executive of the Thames Valley Partnership, said: “It was a massive honour to have her come and it seemed to go really well.

“It was lovely for her to meet the team and see all the really diverse programmes we do, because we’re quite unique in that we look after victims and also offenders in a different context, in terms of reducing reoffending.

“Obviously we work really closely with domestic abuse systems and police services across the country, so it was great to give her an update on that.”