Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network August 2018 Cake! Magazine | Page 62

You’re originally from Pinnaroo, South
Australia (a very small town of only 500
people) but now reside in Florida, USA.
What drove your decision to move
halfway around the world?
I came to Montana, America as an
agricultural exchange student 24 years
ago and fell in love with everything
America had to offer back then. I wore
a cowboy hat from the time I woke
up ’til I went to sleep and owned a
pair of cowboy boots in every colour
you could imagine. I learned how to
country dance and even taught it on
my many trips back to Australia. We
even put a competition group together
once when I was back in Oz. I travelled
back and forth from Oz to the USA for
four years and on my final trip, met my
hubby and was married just 4 weeks
later. We have now been married 20
years with five gorgeous children. My
hubby was in the air force for 20 years
and we decided on Tampa, Florida
when he retired. I never wanted to live
in Florida but it only took one trip and
as soon as I crossed the border in to
Florida it looked much like Queensland
(where I lived for many years) and I
automatically felt it was my home away
from home.
How is the US cake decorating
industry different to Australia?
This is a hard one for me only because
I never even knew I could actually
make a cake when I was living in
Australia. However I was blessed to
come back last year and teach at the
ACADA show in Brisbane and from
that experience I can only say, I see
no difference. We are all eager to learn
and get better at what we do. We all
care very much about our industry and
our customers and are only wanting
the best for all. There is always new
and exciting possibilities for what we
can do in cake. All of us, new or old
to the industry, want to do it to the
best of our ability, no matter where we
live I have found. Which is absolutely
amazing and inspiring all at the same
time.
You have a large family of five children
- any tips for us working parents on
how to achieve a work/life balance?
For any mum or dad in this industry
I think this is a hard one, especially
for those of us that have home
businesses. I have to be honest - my
marriage has really struggled through
it. At first I was just doing this for fun
so it was not an issue. But once it got
into my bones there was no stopping
me. I lived cake! From sun up ’til
the wee wee hours of the morning, I
did nothing but refine my skills and
knowledge. I got my kids up and off to
school and fed at night but everything
else was cake. It took my marriage
ask who I was. It was a real customer
order, not a magazine or collaboration
cake, so it was all edible. The military
member who came to pick it up thought
it was my husband’s boots sitting on
the table when he came to pick up his
order. I love doing all types of cakes
and love getting asked to do cakes for
magazines, competitions and collabs,
but honestly those cakes I have rocked
real cake are the ones that I think give
me the greatest joy! The customer’s
face usually is better than the payment
we get. When they are so in love with
what we have created for them and
cannot stop thanking us or saying how
amazing it is.
almost collapsing a few years ago
to make me realise there had to be
a balance. There also had to be a
price I set on my time, especially with
customer orders. So now I have a set
fee and I also have set hours (ok, to
the best I can). It is hard when many
of our best cake friends live across the
other side of the world and you know
we cannot live without them! But I now
make time that cakes do not come
into my family time. I love my pool and
spending time in it with my family so
at least one day a week I do not touch
my computer. That day is for those that
mean the most to me - my husband
and my children! No magazine cake
or cake order can ever replace those
times with your family, so make sure
you set time aside each week for those
that support you the most!
What trends do you see continuing
throughout 2018-19?
This too is a hard question because I
think it really depends on where you
live. For instance I think the naked
cakes will still be requested through
much of the country region of America.
They love a naked cake with real
You regularly teach as well as
create unique cakes. Do you have
a preference between teaching and
baking/decorating?
flowers. However I think on the city
side of things, bolder and more eye
catching designs will be requested.
People are now really seeing that
cakes can just about be anything you
imagine. So if a client has the budget
(heck, we all want that client, right?)
I think they will be asking for those
outrageous, crazy, gravity defying
designs. Pushing boundaries with
cakes is going to get even more crazy!
How did you get started in cake
decorating?
I think I am like so many others. I
watched all the cake TV shows and
was inspired to no end. So one year it
was my son’s birthday and I thought
well why not try to do something crazy!
So my first cake was about a metre
long alligator. He had marshmallow
claw nails and teeth but was covered
in homemade fondant. He had a
Santa’s hat in his mouth, as if he had
just eaten Santa, seeing as my son’s
birthday is December 21st. I was pretty
impressed for my first try and that
was made want to keep learning and
trying. Four months later I recreated
him except this time with a bulldog in
his mouth, as our football team was
called the Gators and we were playing
the Bulldogs. Second time round was
much better, so the passion began!
What has been your most memorable
cake so far?
I have to say I think it will always be
my army boots cake! That one was
the one that actually made people
I have actually found over the last few
years since I started teaching that I
actually get a bigger kick out of that
side of it. I teach a lot of cocoa butter
painting classes, all thanks to my
gorgeous friend Calli Hopper who was
the teacher who introduced me to the
technique and always inspired me to
learn more and more. I love teaching
because I love meeting people who
think they cannot do something and
showing them that they actually
can. I am a very patient teacher and
sometimes think I actually may have
more fun than the students. My goal
as a teacher is to give as much as
I can in a very short period of time.
Inspire students to step out and try
new things and not be overly critical of
themselves. We all tend to do that way
too much unfortunately! My motto is ‘if
you never try you will never know’. And
I just want everyone to try new things,
but most of all just enjoy life and the
experience that comes with it.
Are there any techniques you’re
wanting to try but haven’t had the
opportunity to?
I still have not done very much with
isomalt and would love to try more, but
unfortunately I am usually teaching
at the same time those classes are
happening so, so far have not done
much. I would also like to try quilling.
I thought about trying it a few years
back so as I could teach it but now
two of my friends teach it so I still have
not tried. I will now have to take one of
their classes which I am super excited
about.
Have you had any cake disasters?
Oh yes! A few years back, early in
my caking process, I had made a
cake for a very close friend’s school
football team. I had rocked this cake,
it looked awesome and had taken me
days to make and every player’s name
was on it. My hubby had helped me
get it in the car but thought it was not
sitting right so decided he would get a
board to sit under it to make it sit more
flat seeing as it had gravity defying
elements to it. I was running late for
delivery so did not check what hubby