Brickhill Bistro teaches next generation of bakers in Leighton Buzzard area

Kathryn Layland, 56, launched the ‘Brickhill Bistro’ during lockdown, teaching children how to make scrumptious treats from Victoria sponges and Black Forest gateaux to Swiss rolls and profiteroles.

The classes continue to be run online, and there are currently two baking teams in the village, with Kathryn hoping to expand to other local areas.

She said: “We became a shielding family six months ago, and I was an early casualty of the economic downturn.

“I saw this as an opportunity to explore the possibility of turning my baking hobby into more than just a pastime.

“We started with a small group of local youngsters, delivering boxed ingredients to them and teaching them baking techniques in interactive online classroom sessions.

“As the weather improved we made an improvised classroom in the garden and had a lot of fun road-testing recipes outdoors!”

During the summer, Kathryn and her bakers made use of the plethora of fruit trees and hedgerows in the village, and in return for being allowed to collect food from people’s gardens, the bakers donated their pies, cakes and crumbles to residents.

Kathryn added: “They were uniformally well received and we were sent several messages from people who were very grateful. We had given them a little Sunday smile.”

Some of the Brickhill Bistro recipes are now commercially viable, and Kathryn will be asking restaurants, pubs and hotels in LBO land to include them on their menus, with a proportion of the proceeds being given to a charity in the village called Little Ashes. It is hoping to start a forest school.

Looking forward, Kathryn is planning some Hallowe’en themed bakes and would also like to arrange another delivery to village residents at Christmas.

Kathryn concluded: “The children are having a fun time, they are learning, and it gives them a foundation for the future in terms of understanding the basic principles of baking pies, cakes, tray bakes and puddings. Some bakes are very simple and others are quite technical - we don’t necessarily tell them how technical it’s getting!”

To find out more about lessons for your child, email: [email protected]

Visit:www.brickhillbistro.co.uk