Festive Baking Masterclass (December)

Cyrenians are running a festive baking masterclass at their Flavour and Haver Cook School on Saturday 5 December, from 10:30am to 2:00pm. It's a three-and-a-half-hour session led by Sue, Cyrenians' Food Education Manager, and the morning is split between two very different bakes: a bûche de Noël and cinnamon buns.

The bûche de Noël is the main event. You'll make the Yule Log itself and then work on the decorations — edible chocolate leaves and mushroom meringues to go on top. Beside that, you'll get a batch of cinnamon buns going, so you leave with two distinct treats rather than just one. It's a proper morning of baking, and you'll be doing the work yourself under Sue's guidance.

Sue is a good pair of hands to have in the kitchen. She's been a chef for over 20 years and has spent nearly 12 of those with Cyrenians; she trained at Leith's School of Food & Wine in London and holds an MSc in Professional & Higher Education from QMU. She runs the Flavour & Haver cook school in Leith, where she teaches people of all ages how to cook, menu plan and budget, with a focus on nutrition and wellbeing.

There's a bit more to the school than just the classes. Its unrestricted funds support people's food journeys: since the start of the year, it's given away over 50 cookbooks and ingredient-based gift bags through its six-week Food Preparation and Budgeting Skills course. Its weekly Lunch Club has served more than 500 free three-course meals, which fits into the organisation's wider approach to homelessness prevention. The masterclass runs at the school's home, 66-68 Jane Street, Edinburgh EH6 5HG, on Saturday 5 December from 10:30am to 2:00pm, and tickets were £65.71.