Food is fuel – but home-baking is a source of comfort and joy
◆ Rosalind Erskine meets a group of women in the north east who have come together to use their baking skills to fundraise
Having just run the furthest I’ve ever ran – 6.5km to be precise – I’ve started thinking about signing up for some proper runs.
Typically, the one that’s caught my eye this year is the Dramathon in Speyside in October. Runners can sign up for a trail run of a marathon, half marathon or 10k – mostly along the beautiful Speyside Way – that ends with, you guessed it, a selection of drams. I’d be delighted to be able to run the 10k, which has started me thinking about food as fuel ahead of these longer runs. As the Word of Mouth exhibition in Edinburgh shows, food intrinsically links us, whether that’s in celebration, quiet contemplation or as something that’ll carry our bodies over the finish line.
Something else that food, particularly baking, can do, is offer comfort in times of need and is a handy tool for fundraising. Whether it’s a school fete, market or any community fundraising event, there’s always a home baking stall. Now, a group of women in the north east have come together to use their skills to fundraise – and raise awareness – for one of their own. These seven bakers will come together in May to support an industry stalwart as she brings The Big Booby Bakesale to Aberdeen. Mechelle Clark, who is the former owner of Aberdeen’s well-known grilled cheese shop Melt, which closed in 2020 due to the pandemic, has rallied her baking friends together to help raise funds for the local hospital following her shock health scare. The 41-year-old who has baked all of her life was diagnosed with the BRCA 1 gene six years ago and in 2018 discovered she had breast cancer during an annual check. Mechelle underwent a double mastectomy as well as an 18-hour reconstruction surgery in November 2022. However, complications including developing sepsis have resulted in Mechelle undergoing 11 surgeries to date, with a further two to three expected.
The bake sale will raise vital funds for the Plastics and Burns Unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) where mastectomy reconstructions are carried out. All of the proceeds raised will go towards purchasing new state-of-the-art boxes that can be provided to patients on the ward ahead of their surgeries. The money will also be used to purchase new much-needed kit for the unit.
Speaking of the upcoming event, Mechelle said: “I wanted to bring the best bakers in the region together to help raise funds for such a vital ward in ARI as I was compelled to help and support the wonderful nurses and surgeons who saved my life on several occasions.”
So here’s to food and how it can bring us together even in the darkest of times.
The Big Booby Bakesale will take place at Parx Café on Rubislaw Terrace on Sunday May 5 from 11am to 3pm where customers can purchase goods from the takeaway window that was put to use during the pandemic.