A humbling Mother’s Day

Living through COVID-19 in Australia was an incredibly challenging experience – as I’m sure it was for you wherever you were in the world at the time – marked by uncertainty, isolation, and disruption. I absolutely cannot complain about my own personal experience as I was one of the lucky ones. My husband and I were still able to work, me from home and him out and about being included as a mandatory worker as part of the fire industry. He felt vulnerable, but lucky to have been able to leave the house and continue to bring in his income. Balancing work and home-schooling our two girls was tricky at times, but it was manageable, and we found a rhythm that worked for our family. We didn’t take our relatively stable position for granted—while the uncertainty and isolation were real, we knew others were facing much tougher circumstances. Still, the experience changed our perspective, making us more appreciative of small freedoms and everyday routines.

But my heart went out to all those people who were struggling. Those who were looking for a special ‘something’ to help pass the day, provide a moment of satisfaction or just something to help them see the light at the end of the tunnel. I decided to start up an online bakery. Work through the day, bake through the evening/night and deliver in between, once I had finished my work day and the girls their school day. I wanted to bring some joy to the people in my local area by doing something that I loved, that is, baking. Something that would bring a smile to faces and bring some peace and joy even if only for a little while. My focus was cookie and cupcake kits for the kids, slab style slices and whoopie pies for the grown ups. I know I am only two weeks in, but with Mother’s Day coming up next weekend in Australia, rather than eat with one of the GREATs this week, I want to share a moment in time when I felt like I was my own kind of GREAT. My GOAT#1 – Mother’s Day High Tea Stand

I did not expect the response I got to this little venture. It wasn’t long before the word had spread and I was up a little longer at night than I should have been, fulfilling orders ready for delivery the following day once I had clocked out from my day job. After clarifying the rules about being allowed out of the house, it was confirmed that food delivery was okay. (I did get pulled over by the police twice during this time, but after explaining that I was a food delivery business it was all okay. The hand sanitiser that I was using constantly registered as an alcohol reading, providing a brief moment of panic but one that didn’t last too long.)

My girls and I loved this part of the day. We were able to get out of the house – despite being restricted to the car – and made the most of it with tunes and stories to make the experience more fun, as there was no contact made at delivery points due to distancing rules. The comments and messages that followed the delivery were so wonderful that I just had to keep going. The whole reason for doing this was to try and bring some happy moments to people’s lives in such tricky circumstances and I truly hope I succeeded. (I think I did). Mother’s Day fell during this time and I wanted to come up with a special treat for mother’s to enjoy that felt a little bit fancy and something they didn’t have to do themselves. Evidently, a high tea was the perfect choice.

Deciding on a menu is something I truly enjoy, so it didn’t take me too long to come up with the perfect combination of sweet and savoury to spoil these precious mothers with. I love the idea of a high tea and know the sorts of flavours and textures that I would appreciate. I had some little treats that I knew would work well together as a truly flavourful and memorable experience despite being confined to home. Just a side note… I do believe that the key to a truly perfect high tea (even though perhaps not traditional) is a combination of flavours, textures, shapes, colours and aesthetically pleasing bite-sized treats. This satisfies all the senses and leaves a truly lasting impression. My chosen menu was as follows:

Chocolate Fudge Brownie, Lemon Crumble Bars, ‘Mum’ Shortbread Biscuits, Caramel & Macadamia Fudge, Mocha Streusel Slice, Mini Vanilla Cupcakes with Marshmallow Flowers, Mini Scones with Cream & Spiced Blackberry Jam, Savoury Parmesan Shortbread Biscuits, Mini Spinach & Feta Quiches and Mini Quiche Lorraine. I also included a selection of Tea & Coffee Bags to accompany the food and a cake tower.

I will endeavour to get my recipes up the blog soon!

Having to reluctantly turn people away, just for the sheer fact that I physically wouldn’t be able to get the orders fulfilled, I set off endeavouring to bake up a storm, ‘storm’ obviously not the right word here as I hoped these Mother’s Day High Tea Boxes would help soothe and uplift those who were able to enjoy it. After one of the most pleasurable baking nights I think I have ever had, the boxes came together nicely and I was proud to put my name to them for delivery the following day. While I didn’t get to see the faces of the people I was delivering to for the most part (as a lot had requested ‘non-contact’ which meant leaving them at the door), what followed that night and the next day was incredibly humbling.

Messages and photos started coming in from the customers wanting to share their high tea experience with me. I felt as though I had been invited into their homes to share the special day with them. A moment of sheer joy and absolute fulfilment that I could brighten a small part of their day in a not so great point in time. Below are just some of the photos that were shared with me. I love seeing the different takes on styling, presentation, arrangement and overall table setting. A chance for people to give it a bit of their own personality which was so rewarding to be a part of!

This little venture is one I will never forget. Lasting only a short while – I got too busy and had to make a choice between this and my job as a vocational educator; unfortunately, the higher paying employment won out – I was able to find joy in using baking skills that I had not used in a while. Despite wanting to spread some cheer to my local area I guess, selfishly, deep down it helped me get through the tricky time also. While I definitely got my mojo back for that short while, it has definitely not taken long for the kitchen to feel more like a place of chore than joy again. The joy I’d rediscovered slowly giving way to the familiar weight of routine. Once again, the kitchen slipping back to a place of obligation rather than inspiration.

But as I reflect on my past experiences cooking and sharing my passion for food with others, I thought this one was worth sharing. A memorable and humbling Mother’s Day for myself, this brief moment in time gratifyingly brought out some of the GOAT in me. I will share more of this bakery with you another time. The kids’ cookie and cupcake decorating kits was next level!

Reflect on your own time in the kitchen. I would love to hear about your greatest of all time. Leave a comment! Happy Mother’s Day to all who celebrate next weekend! To all the other mothers who celebrate at another time around the world, enjoy your weekend anyway! Until next time! xx

The rhythm is in the cooking. The soul is in the experience. Grab those cookbooks, tie on your apron and join me next time at Eating With The GOAT!