Baker Ed to add 'glitter' to cost of living 'gloom' by cooking Christmas cakes in his ovens for free

A Guisborough bakery is to bake Christmas cakes for free to help those struggling with the cost of turning the oven on for that long.

Brickyard Bakery is welcoming people to bring their uncooked Christmas cakes into the venue to be baked free of charge in the ovens over the last weekend in November. The Westgate site said it wants to revive the community oven, a tradition "lost to our community for centuries", in a bid to help those who want to cut energy costs.

This isn't the only helping hand the bakery has offered in recent months, with owner and classically trained chef Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt introducing plans for a 'warm lounge' in September when he realised the heat generated from the oven could be used to benefit the community.

READ MORE:Saltburn parking row rumbles on as sport club members call for emergency meeting

For those living in Guisborough, cakes can be collected on Friday and dropped back to customers all baked and ready to be decorated on Monday. There are also collection points being confirmed in Redcar and Saltburn.

Ed Hamilton-Trewhitt, who was born in Redcar and has cooked for the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, said: "It's more gloom than glitter at the moment. With the current financial climate and soaring bills, many of our customers are having to cut back this Christmas. One of the real tragedies is the loss of a great family tradition and the expression of love that goes into baking for our nearest and dearest.

"At this time of year, there can be no greater expression of love than baking the family Christmas Cake, but that is being lost because of the prohibitive energy costs in running an oven for a few hours. At Brickyard, we want to help by reviving a tradition lost to our community for centuries, the community oven."

There are a number of places on Teesside that have set up initiatives to help communities through the cost of living crisis, with places such as Nunthorpe Methodist Church in Middlesbrough and the Riverside Stadium launching warm spaces. You can find out where some of the locations are on Teesside here.

Speaking last month about his new warm room, Ed said: "I'm not suggesting that this is the answer to the energy crisis but it could be an answer to help some people, especially elderly people who may live on their own or who may not have a great deal of family. I know they're going to really struggle to heat their houses and I know that a lot of the time, they're quite lonely."

For those wanting to take advantage of Brickyard Bakery's Christmas cake scheme, cakes can be dropped off on November 25 and be ready for collection the following Monday. To organise, get in touch with Ed here or on 07507 934651.