Since the early days of COVID-19, we’ve heard story after story of people turning to their rolling pins and mixers for solace. The women behind the kitchen doors of London’s Luminary Bakery know those therapeutic powers well.
Crisis and desperation led them there. With professional training and a supportive community, they’ve baked their way out of hopelessness and into promising futures. Some now have businesses of their own. The story of this remarkable social enterprise bakery has been beautifully documented by its team in “Rising Hope: Recipes and Stories from Luminary Bakery” (Harper Design, $26.99).
As a volunteer in a homeless hostel for women, Alice Williams heard the residents' harrowing stories of violent relationships, human trafficking, extreme poverty and the criminal justice system. She empathized with their frustrations of seeing nowhere to turn, and wanted to help.
In a space provided by a local church, Williams recruited other volunteers to teach the women how to bake. With each session, the team watched the trainees' skills and confidence build. A nurturing community formed. Ben & Jerry’s got wind of the venture, and set them up in their first UK store. Since then, they’ve opened a second location in Camden.
Head bakery trainer Rachel Stonehouse and other members of the team began compiling the recipes created in the Luminary kitchens and interviewing the women for this cookbook.
Many recipes, such as Cheese Scones with Savory Butter, are decidedly British; others draw from family histories elsewhere, such as Tanya’s Banana Fritters with Cinnamon Sugar based on a trainee’s early memory from her Jamaican heritage. Light and delicate Honey and Chamomile Cakes are as soothing and delightful as the pastel watercolors throughout these pages, as was the one I tried for Grace’s Masala Chai and Berry Crumble Cake.
The headnote for the latter aptly describes it as an “everything is going to be fine” kind of cake. I’ll take some more of that.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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