BBK Baking Club and the wellbeing benefits of baking
Promoting better health and wellbeing is really important to us here at BBK. There are several employee led clubs within the firm that enable people to build positive social connection and have fun, one of them being Baking for Elevenses.
Baking for Elevenses is one of BBK’s longest standing clubs, initially having started during the height of the pandemic as a way to stay connected with colleagues over a shared passion. Over the years it has gone from strength to strength, with many delicious bakes being made and shared, but this core concept has always remained the same. We’re pleased to have gained some fame out of the office too – the Great British Bake Off team even asked if we wanted to audition! However, we all enjoy the day job too much and no-one fancied facing up to Paul and Prue.
Every month, Baking Club members celebrate the joy of a mid-morning break or ‘elevenses’ by stepping away from their desks and taking the time to catch up over a slice (or two, or three…) of homemade cake and a cup of tea. The rest of the firm are never disappointed by a baking day either and leftovers rarely last long!
To provide some structure, and to encourage us to try new things, we have a different theme each time. These always provide some fun and have ranged from ‘Halloween’ and ‘Winter Warmers’ to ‘Childhood Favourites’ and ‘Holiday Memories’.
Some recent themes (in pictures)
Birthday Parties:
Valentine’s Day:
Childhood favourites:
Charities and Network Groups
The club often collaborates with various departments to help raise awareness of our brilliant charity partners, as well as internal network groups. Most recently, we teamed up with the Spinal Injury department. They are proud sponsors of Horatio’s Garden, a fantastic charity that creates beautiful, accessible gardens in spinal injury centres and the team often take part in cake sessions at the Stanmore and Stoke Mandeville units.
With delicious bakes in high demand, we pooled our resources with each member of the club baking two cakes – one for tasting on the day and one to be shared with the patients at their next session!
Wellbeing benefits of baking
Baking for Elevenses has now been running for five years and over that time has managed to bring together a diverse group of people from across the firm with a common interest in an activity known to offer many wellbeing benefits, such as:
- Improved confidence – trying a new recipe or learning a new skill offers a fantastic sense of achievement and helps to boost self-esteem and confidence both in and out of the kitchen.
- Mindfulness – baking can help calm a busy, whirring mind and help us to feel more present. It takes us away from our screens and external distractions allowing us to concentrate on the task in front of us.
- Stress relief – mixing, whisking, and kneading by hand are all great ways to relieve stress and tension!
- It’s rewarding – making something from scratch and having a delicious, finished product at the end is such a rewarding process and makes you feel great!
- Sensory stimulation – taking part in activities that stimulate our senses can help boost our ‘happy hormones’ – dopamine, serotonin, endorphins, and oxytocin. Baking does exactly that as it employs all five of our senses all the way through the process, from listening to eggs cracking to watching dough rise.
- Social wellbeing – breaking bread with friends and family fosters meaningful connections and baking that bread yourself only serves to amplify this! Sharing your freshly baked goods with others is a joy and can give a real sense of purpose whilst coming together over a shared interest (everyone is interested in cookies!) can create a strong bond and sense of belonging.
It is important to remember that one does not have to be a high-class pastry chef to enjoy the benefits of baking – I for one have had my fair share of baking fails! Everyone at BBK is welcome to join Baking for Elevenses so long as they enjoy it, are open to giving things a go (with possibly some sunken cakes and dodgy decoration along the way) and sharing their delicious creations. Here’s to the next five years of sweet treats!
