Isolated bakers in Brent Knoll are being invited to take part in a ‘Brent Knoll Isolation Bake-Off’ this month.
For the next two weeks, the newly-opened Brent Knoll Community Shop will be stocking all the ingredients for the bakers, including flour, strawberries and jam-sugar.
The shop has joined forces with key suppliers, including Matthews Cotswold Mill flour, a Cheddar strawberry farmer, and others to stock all the ingredients needed for home-isolated villagers of all ages to produce jam or bake cakes, biscuits or bread.
The results of their baking will be displayed and sold on Saturday 16th May in the shop in Brent Knoll.
John Mathews, the creator of the idea, who is a member of the shop’s steering group, told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We have received massive support for our Emergency Shop from so many suppliers that we wanted to create an event for villagers to use their lock-down time to create something in their kitchen.”
“That can include home-schooling for children, who would benefit from a session of jam-making or baking bread, cakes, or biscuits,” said Mr Mathews.
The Brent Knoll Shop has been open for just a fortnight, but is already proving to be a great success, and is run by a team of unpaid volunteers. The shop provides fresh bread, milk, meats, cheese, newspapers, and all the essential household products.
The shop is observing all the social-distancing rules, and has recruited buskers to help entertain the customers queuing outside.
“Everyone creating something for the ‘Isolation Bake-Off’ must provide a written list of ingredients for their jam, cakes, scones or whatever they produce,” said Mr Mathews.
“We also ask them to mark their suggested price, so that we can then offer them for sale, with the proceeds boosting the funds of our emergency shop,” he adds.
“Isolation Bake-Off” items should be taken to the shop between 8am and 8.30am on 16th May, so that they can be displayed for sale when the shop opens at 9am that day.
Meanwhile, the emergency shop’s steering group will review the future of the shop every month, based on support from volunteers and customers, and Government rules on the Covid-19 crisis. For the moment, the shop will remain in place until 17th May.
Thereafter, the Steering Group could decide to close the shop or amend opening hours.
“Right now, our first fortnight has been a huge success,” said Mr Mathews. “So, if this continues – with equal levels of enjoyment for both our volunteers and our customers – we’ll have every reason to keep running,” he added.
“It’s a simple fact that the success of this Shop is entirely down to the support of our suppliers, our volunteers, and our customers. We need all three to continue if we are able to keep this shop going”, said Mr Mathews.
