Bread Ahead launches ten-year project to teach one million young people to bake for free

London bakery and baking school Bread Ahead will launch The Future Bakers Project on World Baking Day this May – a ten-year initiative aiming to teach one million children and young adults across the UK and internationally to bake, free of charge. The programme, which is the brainchild of Bread Ahead founder Matthew Jones, will be officially unveiled with a day of free workshops and community events at the bakery’s Borough Market site next Sunday.

The project combines in-person workshops, downloadable recipe content and a national digital learning platform, intending to make baking education more widely available. The aim is to encourage young people to develop confidence, creativity and practical life skills alongside their new baking techniques.

The programme will be delivered through three core strands: weekly children’s baking sessions at Bread Ahead Borough Market on Mondays and at Wembley on Tuesdays, online content featuring downloadable recipes and lessons, and partnerships with schools, youth organisations, charities and cultural institutions in the UK and abroad.

Bread Ahead has set targets of reaching 100,000 budding bakers by 2028, 500,000 by 2032 and one million by 2036. The initiative is being supported by partner organisations including Clarence Court, Disney and Marriage’s Flour, who will contribute to themed baking experiences and educational content.

The launch event will run from 10am to 4pm on World Baking Day – 17^th May. The schedule includes an opening address by Matthew Jones, a Scones & Jam family workshop, a community bake titled The Big Bake Off: Freestyle Focaccia, a children’s Top Secret Cookie Workshop producing themed blue cookies, and a public Scones & Jam baking session. Visitors will also have access to partner stalls, information points and live baking demonstrations. There will be Junior Bakers competition to mark the celebrations, with the winning entry to be showcased on the bakery’s menu for a day.

Bread Ahead was founded in 2013 as a stall in Borough Market and has since grown to operate six bakeries in London, with flagship baking schools in Borough and Wembley. The company also runs 12 bakeries across the Middle East, with further openings planned this year in Thailand, the Philippines and New York. 

Reflecting on the new project, Jones said: “Back in 2013, it started with a single market stall in Borough Market and a simple belief: that baking brings people together. What has grown since is a community built around sharing real life skills, confidence and creativity with the next generation. The Future Bakers Project is about passing that on, opening the kitchen to young people everywhere and showing them what they are truly capable of. Because when you learn to bake, you don’t just learn recipes, you learn resilience, independence and joy. This is your kitchen, your moment – your chance to rise.”

Food Desk

Bread Ahead’s Future Bakers Project launches on 17^th May 2026 at Bread Ahead Bakery, Borough Market, Cathedral Street, London SE1 9DE. For further information or to register interest, email futurebakers@breadahead.com or visit the group’s website here.