Devon baker launches cookbook to help Ukraine

Anna Makievska runs the Bakehouse in Kyiv

A baker from Devon has released a cookbook featuring recipes from around the world after being inspired by a Ukranian bakery.

Workers at Bakehouse in Kyiv continued baking during the war, making more than 100,000 loaves of free bread for hospitals, soldiers and elderly people.

Inspired by their story, Andrew Green called on other bakers to donate their own recipes to help.

The book Knead Peace will support relief work in the country.

Bakers, including chef Yotam Ottolenghi, responded to the call for recipes for sweet and savoury bakes.

Andrew Green was inspired to create the cookbook after hearing about the team at Bakehouse in Kyiv

"The baking community is such a special community," Mr Green said.

"We put the word out on social media and all of a sudden everyone started donating recipes, we've got some amazing names in the book from around the world, there's America, Spain, France in there.

"It's an amazing response to I think the situation in Ukraine, people really wanted to help so once you explain the book then it's a no brainer, they just wanted to help us really."

When the war started in Ukraine in February, Bakehouse co-owner Anna Makievska had a two-month-old baby and made the decision to leave the country with her two children. She has been working from Portugal since.

Bakehouse Garage opened in October 2021 but is unsafe to work in at the moment so the team moved everything to their original location which is in a basement

She said the team who remained decided to close the new branch, which had opened the previous October, and moved everything to the original Bakehouse in the basement of another shop as it would be safer.

They have been able to continue baking bread for charity due to a fundraiser started by an American baker friend of Ms Makievska's, but she said the money was running out.

And a warehouse with the company's stock in was destroyed early in the war.

Ms Makievska fears for the future of the bakery but was happy to be involved in Mr Green's project.

"I really admire that this book has a purpose, has a message and will do a lot of good things I believe for Ukranian people and for Ukraine and just for people who love to bake because when someone sees that you can just bake for a good cause, this is a good message," she said.

Kate Marton is one of the bakes whose recipe features in the book

Kate Marton, from Hylsten Bakery in Buckfastleigh, donated a personal recipe for the book.

She knows what it is like to receive outside support, having crowdfunded following a fire at her bakery just before Christmas last year.

She said: "What's so wonderful about the book is it feels like it's about community.

"Food is about bringing people together. It's really inspiring and empowering and I think having that moment of seeing people coming together… makes you feel like things are going to be OK."

Money from the sale of the book will go to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal of the Disasters Emergency Committee, which helps to provide food, water, shelter, healthcare and protection to families fleeing from conflict.