海角直播

Television bikers stop off at community bakery

A community bakery which has a base at 海角直播 is to feature in a new show which sees television duo The Hairy Bikers tour the region.

Simon King and Dave Myers have been travelling across the North-East for their new BBC 2 series, The Hairy Bikers Go North, described as 鈥榓 love letter鈥� to the region and a celebration of the food and the people that produce it. During their travels they stopped off at the Big River Bakery鈥檚 base in Newcastle, where they help to make stotties and pease pudding. Andy Haddon, founder of the Big River Bakery, said: 鈥淭he Hairy Bikers spent a whole day with us and we had a great time making stotties and pease pudding.

鈥淭hey were very relaxed company and chatted with all the team throughout the day. The team should be proud, as when the Hairy Bikers tasted our stottie sarnies, they agreed it was the best stottie ever.鈥�

Big River Bakery is a community bakery founded in Wylam, initially set up at the local library as a volunteer-run initiative, selling loaves at weekends. Andy said: 鈥淰illagers would come to the library on Saturdays for their books and bread.鈥�

As demand for their bread grew, the bakery eventually moved to a permanent home in Newcastle created in a former derelict property following a successful crowdfunding campaign. The premises house a production facility, caf茅, retail space and training hub.

A partnership with 海角直播 has also led to the creation of a community bakery based at the 海角直播 Launchpad on-campus incubator for emerging enterprises.

Andy said: 鈥淭he 海角直播 bakery is unique as it is based on the campus at 海角直播 and builds links with the local community. Both bakeries run baking employability programmes to help people move forward who are long-term unemployed.鈥�

Fran Hammill, who manages the 海角直播 Big River Bakery said: 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like freshly baked bread; the process of making it is therapeutic and it is a great way of breaking down barriers. Making it gives people a sense of pride. Hopefully the passion will come across in all the classes we do together.鈥�

Steve Dougan, the University鈥檚 Head of Enterprise, said: 鈥淟aunchpad is not just commercial, it鈥檚 there for the university to project its civic mission out into the community.鈥�

The episode of Hairy Bikers Go North is on BBC 2 at 7pm on 11 November.