Over the past few years, I have produced a number of competition and exhibition cakes, mainly for Cake International – the largest exhibition of its’ kind in the world.
Competition and Exhibition Cakes have played a big part in my cake journey!
My first ever competition entry, in November 2016 at Cake International (Birmingham NEC), was this BFG scene, entered into the ‘Large Decorative Exhibit’ category.
The open book was made from Rice Krispie Cereal treats, whilst the figurine and decorative elements were hand sculpted from modelling paste.
I was so amazed to be awarded a SILVER award for my first ever entry!
I quickly caught the competing bug, so March 2017 saw me back at Birmingham, entering the Spring Cake International show.
I entered the same ‘Large Decorative’ category, but this time I tackled a life size bust cake depicting The Night King from the popular Game of Thrones TV series.
Each tiny piece of paste on the armour was individually cut and attached by hand.
I could not believe my eyes to see that I was awarded GOLD for this piece. It truly goes down as one of the best moments of my cake career to date!
For my 3rd competition entry, I decided to scale things down as a challenge, and enter the Small Decorative Exhibit category (limited to a piece of work fitting into a 12″x12″x12″ space).
I chose a subject very close to my heart – my pet Springer Spaniel, inspired by the fact that after every walk, she runs into our back garden and uses our water feature as her own personal outdoor water bowl!
I thoroughly enjoyed working on this piece (except perhaps for making every single, individual piece of gravel, which covered the whole board by hand – which took a LOT of time!!).
Was over the moon to be given another Silver award for this entry. The level of competition is so high at these events, it is an honour to take part.
2018 was a busy year for me at Cake International!
As well as entering the Small Decorative Category for a 2nd time, with a fantasy themed piece, depicting a Merfae (part mermaid/part fairy) hiding in a cave (for which I was happy to be given a Bronze award), I was also involved in a number of feature displays.
Firstly, a large feature based on the works of Roald Dahl, for which I created Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He was displayed alongside works from many other cake artists from around the world – a very proud moment to take part in this!
I was also involved in 2 table group display – a 1970’s themed table, for which I created hand modelled figures of the female members of ABBA, and also a pirate themed table (which was awarded first place in the group tables), for which I contributed a Pirate Mermaid figure.
In 2019 I was selected to compete in the Semi Finals for the ‘Baking Awards 2019 – Celebration Cake Maker of the Year Award’ at the Renshaw Academy in Liverpool.
During the run up to the event, I had to create a show stopping cake with the theme ‘The Cosmos’.
My piece represented the whole Universe being shared by ourselves (humans) and other species (imaginary aliens and other creatures).
On the day of the semi finals, I transported my piece carefully to Liverpool, where I also competed alongside my fellow semi-finalists to fill and cover a cake within 45 minutes as well as an individual interview with the judging panel.
Sadly I didn’t make it through to the final 3, but was still very proud to have been asked to compete with my peers from around the country. I made some fabulous friends and had a brilliant day!
2019 was another busy year for me at Cake International!
This time, I focused more on my exhibition/display cakes, although I did manage a small competition piece too.
First up was my largest piece – a lifesize model of a child Witch, who measured approx 32″ high sitting down on the board. She was mainly constructed of Rice Krispie Cereal Treats, to keep her weight down as much as possible for carrying.
I also made a lifesize cat for a Christmas themed feature. The cat was tangled in Christmas lights and meowed when you pressed a button!
As part of a trio of cake artists, under the name of The Three Sugartiers, I took part in a 2 day live event, where we created a huge tree, filled with cute woodland creatures, from a mixture of carved cake, modelling pastes and polystyrene dummies. We were runners up and awarded a Gold Certificate.
My own personal piece for the competition was a small Zombie bust. I was happy to receive a Merit award, considering I didn’t have much time to spend on it this time! Receiving any award from the esteemed judges at Cake International is an achievement to be proud of!
A night out at the Cake Masters Awards, with my daughter Rachel (yes - I'm the short one!!)
You can find out more information about Cake International by visiting their website here
