MERA Outdoor Oven for
community use
by Julie Druker
Official ribbon cutting ceremony
unveils MERA’s new outdoor Community Oven. (l to r) Tom Shoebridge,
Darrin MacDonald, Marnie McCook and Mallory Beauchamp.
The smell of fresh-baked pizza filled
the air around the MERA schoolhouse on Saturday July 18, when their
recently completed project, an outdoor wood-fired community oven, was
fired up and unveiled to the public in an official ribbon-cutting
ceremony.
Tom Shoebridge, chair of the MERA
board, and Marnie McCook, representing the Trillium Foundation, along
with local stone mason Darrin MacDonald and carpenter Mallory
Beauchamp did the ribbon-cutting honours.
According to McCook, “Only MERA would
come up with a project as innovative and creative as an outdoor
community oven.” The $15,000 Trillium grant, awarded to the project
back in the spring under the two combined categories of arts and
culture and economic potential/enhancement, was instrumental in
allowing the project to come to fruition.
The idea for the project came about
back in 2000 when Ankaret Dean, one of MERA’s founding members and
according to chair Shoebridge “the Queen of arts ideas at MERA”,
saw an outdoor oven at the Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto that was a
tremendous draw to the park and an integral part of a number of
community events held there.
Ankaret explained, “At that time we
(at MERA) were busy with many other important projects but when the
farmers’ market started up last year I brought up the idea about
the community oven and then it all just fell into place.”
Ankaret approached her then neighbour
Darrin, a local stone mason who teaches the Heritage Masonry course
at Algonquin College in Perth, and the two began researching and
designing the project and eventually made the application for the
Trillium grant. According to Darrin, “We based the design on the
Dufferin Grove stove which was built in the shape of a little brick
house, but we incorporated other elements like local Beckwith
sandstone.” Mallory, who assisted Darrin with the stove’s
construction and who also lives in the area, carved the central
circular Indian sandstone with the MERA moniker.
The oven will be available free to
everyone in the community and can be booked by community groups or
individuals through MERA. A training course is mandatory, however,
since improper use can damage the internal elements of the stove.
MERA will also be offering free training sessions in how to operate
the oven. Those wishing to use the oven for commercial ends will be
charged a rental fee.
To date, a number of people have
already been trained and local bakers plan to use it to make some of
their products which they plan to sell at the farmers’ market held
at MERA every Saturday from 9AM – 1PM.
On Saturday, Steve Kotze and his family
were busy assembling and baking pizzas that were being offered to
those present for the ceremony. Steve had been trained by Graham
Beck of the Little Stream Bakery in Glen Tay.
MERA members are also hoping to hold
community pizza nights on Thursdays where the community can come and
make their own pizzas.
All involved in the project anticipate
the new oven drawing a number of community groups and individuals to
MERA to take advantage of this unique community facility. Anyone
interested in reserving a spot for MERA's free outdoor oven baking
course on August 6 can call 613-278-0388
