The bakery teaching disadvantaged women cooking – and life – skills

Luminary Bakery started as a way of finding women work, but it quickly became much more. Here is its story, plus six delicious recipes from its new cookbook

‘What I love about baking is that it straddles being rules-based and creative,” says Rachel Stonehouse, head of training at Luminary Bakery. “There are lots of skills to learn – timekeeping, following instructions, working efficiently; things that can be transferred to whatever job people do.”

Stonehouse is also co-author of the Luminary cookbook, Rising Hope, which showcases recipes and stories from the more-than 50 students who have so far completed the bakery’s training programme. Though the book deals sensitively with the details, it’s clear the graduates have succeeded despite coming from the darkest edges of domestic and financial instability.