Club Feature: Baking Club
As the smell of freshly baked cookies and sweet, caramel apple crisps fill the room, students huddle around the kitchen to take a bite. The Baking Club co-heads, uppers Juni Terry, Sydney Jones, Megan Smith, Rachylle Hart and Jack Farrell, have just finished preparing a variety of baked goods, bringing them to the table for the rest of the club. Baking Club meets every Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Academy Center Basement, serving as a place for students to come work on homework and enjoy a mix of delicious snacks.
The club was initially formed between seniors Megan Smith and Sydney Jones after club night during their lower year when they realised there was a lack of baking experience on campus. “There wasn’t a baking club and we just thought that wasn’t right,” Jones said.
The club encourages students from all grades to join and participate in the baking experience, no matter their skill level. Since it was founded, the club has grown. They now have an eclectic group of members, and the club usually has anywhere from 6 to 20 people showing up.
“We baked lemon bars and they were very tasty. They were sweet, but not too tart. The co-heads encouraged people to help with the baking.”
Each week, the co-heads take turns picking recipes and getting ingredients from one of the grocery stores nearby. English instructors Wendy Mellin and Ellen Wolff support the club with reimbursements and help organize other fun events. Recently, they have baked sugar cookies, banana bread and chocolate chip pretzel cookies.
The club’s open atmosphere gives it a very welcoming environment and makes it a great opportunity for students to try a new club. “I started baking club my prep year because I love to bake. In general, baking club is a very relaxed club and people are welcome to come to any meeting, even if they have never been before,” said Juni Terry, a co-founder of the club.
Prep Jacob Zimmerman enjoyed going to the club for the first time last week. “We baked lemon bars and they were very tasty. They were sweet, but not too tart. The co-heads encouraged people to help with the baking,” said Zimmerman.
Due to the laid-back environment, students often also come to the club to get some work done in a stress free place. Students like prep Gillian Quinto go every week to enjoy these delicious goods and do some homework. “The community is super nice and basically down for whatever,” Quinto said. “I go pretty much every week and basically just do my homework and hang out with other students. It’s a fun time.”
This spring term, the Baking Club has many plans to support events at Exeter, starting with making assorted goods for Poetry Night and Pom’s bake sale. They will also be baking purple desserts in lieu of cancer awareness for Relay for Life, which will be held on Saturday, April 9.
Along with these big events at our school, starting this term, the baking club will be working with the International Students Alliance (ISA). Farrell said, “Some weeks, an affinity group will come to Baking Club to make food that is native to the affinity group’s culture or country.”
Overall, the baking club will be incorporating many new events and creating fun experiences this term. The relaxing and encouraging environment allows students to learn new recipes for their favorite desserts and can serve as a sweet way to enjoy a Sunday afternoon.
In three words Jones describes the club as “fun, relaxing and yum”—does it get much better than that?