Lockdown - Level 4 Bake Off

Nothing screams Level 4 Lockdown more than hearing the nation’s leaders speak on the TV every day at 1pm to give us a daily update. The same could be said for suddenly spying Hilary Barry doing a live Facebook baking lesson, dressed in a glittery gown and tiara whilst whipping up some traditional kiwi yumminess. This week I actually decided to follow her culinary instruction, mainly due to the fact that she was making lemon cake and I had an abundance of lemons that needed to be used (and there’s only so much room to put them in my G&T every night!).

But as I soon found out, not only do you learn how to bake, but you learn some of life’s most forgotten and probably important lessons….

Hilary was adamant that even if you didn’t have all the ingredients, you could still follow along and bake this beautiful cake.  Substitution was encouraged wholeheartedly. Which could be said for the way we now live during this Level 4 lockdown. We have to substitute freedom for a few weeks of staying put. We have to possibly substitute the foods we eat, the things we do, the people we see, the places we go. But at the end of the day, we are lucky to have our cake and eat it. (At this point I must confess that I substituted vegetable oil for Malibu rum in my cake and I reckon I’m onto a winner!). Everyday life may be different for a while, but with a few substitutions we can get back to normality sooner.

Getting involved in your community during a Level 4 lockdown in near on impossible. But baking with 1000’s of your closest strangers brings with it a sense of belonging. You just know that someone, somewhere, is also making a mess of their kitchen and swearing like a trooper under their breath. We are all rallying together to get that cake made in some form or another. We all want to feel useful especially at a time when our day-to-day life seems out of our control. So get involved. Join an online group. Wave to your neighbours.  Offer advice (when its needed). Listen to others. Be a part of something. And most definitely support small businesses, as they want to be there for you now AND when our restrictions ease. Hop online. Send a message. Write a review. Buy from the small guys. They will love you for it.

And if Hilary has shown us something over these trying times, it’s don’t take yourself too seriously – not everyone is a masterchef. Not everyone has a designer kitchen. Not everyone has someone to bake for. And not everyone has all in the ingredients. But as a famous sports brand says Just Do It. Join in. Give it a go. Laugh at the mistakes. Embrace the silliness.  Find your inner kid. Go with the flow. Before you know it, we will all be back doing our “usual” stuff, and wishing we had time to substitute being at work with baking a cake on a Friday morning.

At the end of the day – lockdown or not, baking skills or not – all of life’s lessons should be enjoyed, adapted and shared…… and we encourage you to do so with a drizzle of icing and a sparkly tiara.

See you all soon! And don’t forget to check out our online store….

Yours in baking 

Sarah 
Space Cadet