ABERDEEN baker, Mechelle Clark, who recently battled breast cancer was left close to tears after more than 500 people turned out to support her charity bakesale yesterday (Sunday May 5).
A line formed outside of Parx Cafe on Rubislaw Terrace for The Big Booby Bakesale around 10.30am, with more than 200 people in the queue by 11am. By 12.30pm the event was sold out.
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Organised in aid of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary’s Plastics and Burns Unit, the team of volunteers, headed up by Mechelle Clark, raised more than £3,200.
Mechelle, who currently works at Trellis in Newburgh but was the powerhouse behind Aberdeen food brand Melt, recruited a star-studded line-up of north-east bakers who donated their products for The Big Booby Bakesale.
They included Bandit Bakery, Sourcloud Bakes, Feingeback and The Crusty Slice in Aberdeen, plus The Highlanders Bakehouse in Crathie and The Culinary Kiwi Bird in Insch.
Mechelle Clark said: “It’s hard to put into words the gratitude that I feel for the turnout at The Big Booby Bake Sale.
“Yes, I expected a queue, but nowhere near the number of people that turned out. Unfortunately, the kind of person I am, I am far too focused on those who queued but we weren’t able to pick up any of the wonderful baked goods on sale because we sold out.
“If I wasn’t so tired I’d be thinking ‘How can we do this again?’ to ensure everyone could get something.”
Some supporters waited over an hour to get the chance to purchase an array of mouth-watering bakes and pastries including cinnamon rolls, croissants, focaccia, buns, scones, soda bread and more.
Mechelle was diagnosed with the BRCA 1 gene six years ago and was told she had breast cancer during an annual check-in in 2022. She underwent a double mastectomy and an 18-hour reconstruction but complications, including sepsis, have resulted in 11 further surgeries to date, with more expected.
The money raised from both the Just Giving page and bakesale will go to the specialised unit, which carries out mastectomy surgeries, to help make patients’ experiences of the unit more comfortable ahead of surgery.
When asked if this event was something she’d organise again, she said: “Not only is there clearly a gap in the market for bringing this kind of skillset together in one place, but how amazing that it was all done to support breast care at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“My story is not an unusual one, and I believe everyone has been touched by cancer and can relate to the experiences I have had.
“There are too many people to thank who helped make this happen, and it certainly wasn’t an individual effort, but thank you most of all to those who queued as long as they did all in the name of boobs and butter.”
Kirsty Moncrieff, owner of Parx Cafe, the host event for the bakesale, is no stranger to queues at her busy Aberdeen café, although said described yesterday’s as “extraordinary”.
She said: “My overwhelming feeling of the day was the incredible community spirit we have here in the north-east and how lovely it was that people had come out to support Mechelle and such a worthy cause. It was great to see so many familiar faces in the queue with families, couples, children and even dogs all waiting patiently to get some of the delicious bakes from some of the north-east’s finest bakers.
“I understand the amount of work that will have gone into what they did in supporting Mechelle, and that’s on top of their day job, so to see the support and the huge queues really made everyone’s day.”
To donate please visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/bigboobybakesale
