St. Louis chefs unite for the Bakers for Black Lives fundraiser on Sunday

A diverse group of St. Louis-area bakers are coming together for the Bakers for Black Lives event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at The Vino Gallery at 4701 McPherson Ave. in the Central West End. This fundraiser is in response to the heightened civil unrest across the country and world and embodies the hope to help those struggling right now.  

“Cooking is our love language,” said Hannah Kerne, former Vicia assistant pastry chef. “And I think we’ve been really struggling emotionally with all of this pain that’s going on in the city, around the country. We want to use our resources in the way that we best know how to use them. We wanted to support in the most authentic way, which for us is baking.” 

A table full of baked goods for sale will be set up outside the gallery, and Kerne said there will also likely be a drive-up component for those who wish to stay in their cars, though those details are still being worked out. 

Those participating in the event so far include Kerne, Tai Davis of Alchemy Bakery, Meaghan Coltrain formerly of Niche Food Group, Sharon Harter of The Bellwether and The Polite Society, and Shimon Otsuka of Nathaniel Reid Bakery.  

“I love the fact that even though the pastry world is small here, we all know each other,” Harter said. “I love the fact that we’re all colored. I’m biracial, Tai’s Black, Shimon is Japanese.”  

There will be a variety of Black Lives Matter-themed baked goods available for purchase. A few highlights include baking stencils from Shimon Otsuka in addition to cakes from Tai Davis and Meaghan Coultrain that will be auctioned off during the event. Bakers for Black Lives will be completely donation-based and all proceeds will go to a variety of organizations including ArchCity Defenders, Campaign Zero and STL Mutual Aid.  

The organizers hope to continue these bake sales on a regular basis until Juneteenth, the holiday celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation, on June 19.  

“I don’t want this momentum right now to just fizzle out,” Harter explained. “I think it’s also important to hold really positive, inclusive events because there’s constant division that we see on TV, and emotions are just so raw. It would be refreshing to be able to provide outlets where people can come together can come together and actually have conversations and support each other.”

Anyone interested in baking or volunteering for the event can email bakersforblacklives@gmail.com for further details.