How to Bake Buns and Influence People

Baking cakes for friends and family was always a pleasurable experience for me, but it was only recently when a friend of mine disclosed the impact this simple act had on her and the way she perceived me, that I began to consider the way it had shaped me into the person I had become.

As a young Mum I had wanted my children to experience the pleasure of baking cakes to eat and share with friends and family as I had done. Sharing food with family and friends is a wonderful expression of love for one another. Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay are working hard to get us all back in the kitchen to enjoy the benefits of healthy eating but the key thing they are missing is that sense of belonging and family time that goes along with that.

Generations of Mums and Grandmas have spent time passing down recipes and skills to each new generation and built up a raft of inter-generational skills adapted to the technology of the age. Cooking and baking was, for me, part of the recognition of the transition from childhood to adulthood. As a child I would sit attentively as I watched my Mum blend together the mixture in the bowl and then I, with sleeves rolled up, pinny on and balancing precariously on a chair at my Mum’s elbow, would enthusiastically lick out the bowl and the wooden spoon as my part of helping in the process. As I grew up I moved on to become adept at mixing and stirring the magical mixture that went into the oven a soft creamy concoction and came out thirty minutes later as a wonderful steamy sponge that I knew I would be asked to ice and decorate with butter icing and an assortment of sweets and sugar strands before I could present my offering to the family at tea time.

As I grew up and the need for the kitchen chair to stand on diminished, my skills grew and I graduated through the various processes, learning to weigh the ingredients accurately to ensure the correct mix, learning to read the recipes and translate the different terms to produce the magical creations that were consumed with such gusto at tea time. The day dawned when I was allowed to put my cake into the hot oven and take it out, after testing to ensure it was cooked. What cause for celebration! I was now able to accomplish all the different stages required in order to make the cake, perhaps now I was considered an adult? Alas no, this was just another step along the way and there were more skills to learn and master and other exciting things to discover.

So, what did I learn along the way?

Was it just the skill of baking a cake?

No, it was so much more than that. I learned the joy of sharing cake with friends, a cake that represents so much more than the sugar sweet concoction we eat. It represented a love for those who shared the cake, it showed me that love passes through the generations and that family is the place where children grow to learn and trust those around them and that learning is done in ages and stages as children are ready to learn life's lessons. Elders, friends and family teach the lessons through love. As a small child I stood on a kitchen chair at my mothers elbow to reach the table and share in the experience. As an adult and a mother myself, I support my children as they grow and learn to stand alone equipped with the skills they need for life. When the time is right the chair is moved to the side but the support is still there.

Yes, Jamie and Gordon you are right, we need to get families back into the kitchen to learn to cook and eat healthy meals but also to learn those other valuable lessons of life. I never realised all those years ago how the simple pleasure of baking and eating cakes could have such an influence on myself and others.

Barbara J. Cobbold

27.06.08