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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Telford Cakes International show 2012


Telford Cakes International show 2012


A group of 12 Aussie  cake decorators are attending the above show, some have entered the listed  competitions with  pieces,some are having a working holiday, but the most common factor we all have is our interest in cakes.The group trip was organised by Mary Of Merrivale cakes and  some students I allready know and some I had yet to get to know!

With a mixed array of ages and  all are  from Queensland, let the fun begin .........


Day one. Ironbridge, somewhere near Telford........

The groups first day after a 2 day journey and trying to shake jet lag, we had a lovely day exploring visiting Queenies cupcake parlour, www.queeniescupcakery.co.uk


visiting an interactive historical village, getting a free bus ride because the ticket machine was not working, so I asked the driver whether we could go to London?
I also learnt what a selfie was( holding the camera and taking a picture of yourself,) Deb is an expert instructor at this!
 Day 1


Day 2 Monday  14th May 2012  morning in Liverpool.




Patchwork cutters,the lovely host Marion Frost demonstrated some of her latest Patchwork Cutters and we were shown into her warehouse with her friendly smiley staff busily packing for the Telford Cake show, later that week,

We were led into her lovely cake workshop and saw all her displayed cakes with new and old designs.We were able to purchase her cutters and books after the demonstrations.
The room was lovely well lit, spacious and was a delight to be in.

Marion is a friendly warm host and has not tired from her craft and brings out new designs and cutters with great books with photos and still has the passion. Marions work  also features in the UK Cake magazines.

We had an amazing lunch,and that is an understatement,
as a chef I have to leave my chefs hat at home, so to speak, but we had soup, prawns, smoked salmon, quiches, salads and more and my favourite........Banofee pie mmmmmmmm truely a delight and a big thank you to Marions hubby for his camera work too xxx





Monday 14th May 2012 Afternoon Karen Davies





Karen Davies, has produced a huge range of moulds to help cake makers  save time and create adorable decorations..
Karens books also compliment her moulds with clear concise instructions and great photography.
Karen has a range of mould brooches and pearls too and is very up to date with the styles.

Karen made in the demo the above pictured baby and the ballerina, cute effective and not too time
consuming.
Afternoon tea at Karens was also deliscious, with scones and clotted cream and a beautiful caramel cake and again we kept the UK economy going by purchasing a few products .(okay quite a few products! I am not too sure if my hubby will read this!)

Karens work also features in the UK Cake magazines.



Day 3 Tuesday 15th  and Wednesday 16th May 2012  International skills school with Alan Dunn and Elaine Macgregor
This was organised by the British Sugarcraft Guild with Marilyn Hill and Jackie as our wonderful hosts.

Royal icing skills flood work and brushed embroidery, Elaine was wonderful in the way she still holds these skills and adapts them to todays style of cake.Elaine, was originally from Australia and has been in the UK for the last 20years (maybe longer) she used to teach at my local Tafe in Brighton, except there not called Tafe!

Elaine,was also enjoyable company at meal  times and was also an excellent assistant in helping Susan get some of the girls clothing cleaned at the launderette, thank you Elainexxx

I was not feeling well the second part of the first day and went to my room for a lie down in the afternoon and woke the next morning ! some of the group were not feeling too well either.The next morning Elaine had finished of my lady plaque, thank you .


Elaine also has the following dvds available

SUCCESSFUL SUGARCRAFT TRIPLE DVD COLLECTION - Description

Sugar Flowers

Floral decorations made from sugar are something very special. Their beauty enhances any cake for any occasion and they may be presented as a gift or preserved as a memento.
On this DVD, Elaine MacGregor shows you how to create simple blossoms, posies and bouquets from Lilies, Stephanotis and Jasmine to Orchids and Roses.
The techniques of cutting, forming, colouring and assembling petals and leaves into beautiful arrangements are made easy by Elaine's step-by-step demonstrations.
Elaine is Chairman of Judges for the British Sugarcraft Guild, an accredited judge for the Cookery and Food Association, a member of the Craft Guide of Chefs and a Fellow of the Institute of British Bakers.

Sugar Modelling

Sugar Models can bring to life any cake. They can be humorous, beautiful and creative.
Among the many simple models featured on this DVD are Elephants, Penguins, Goldfish and Teddy Bears. More ambitious subjects include an Iceberg Cake, a delightful Pastillage Vase and a jolly 'Bas Relief' Golfer - and they're all easier than you think!
Elaine MacGregor also demonstrates many other techniques for enhancing your sugarcraft skills including brush embroidery, stenciling, run-outs and cocoa painting.
With these skills at your fingertips, you'll feel confident enough to tackle almost any project and succeed. Practice makes perfect and what better way to start than watching Elaine's easy to follow DVD.
Elaine is Chairman of Judges for the British Sugarcraft Guild, an accredited judge for the Cookery and Food Association, a member of the Craft Guide of Chefs and a Fellow of the Institute of British Bakers.

Wedding Cakes

Wedding Cakes are the ultimate expression of the sugarcraft and yet they don't have to be difficult to decorate. By using simple techniques, Elaine MacGregor creates five stylish cakes each stunningly different.
These include a two-tiered royal iced cake with ready-made decorations for those with less experience, an iced cake topped with real chocolate and ornamented with gilded chocolate roses, a 'Teardrop Cake' featuring Royal inlay patterns, a delicate four-tiered cake and a spectacular Edwardian confection with ornate Royal icing patterns.
All five wedding cakes are tempting alternatives to expensive make-to-order cakes and will encourage you to reach new heights of sugarcrafting.
Elaine is Chairman of Judges for the British Sugarcraft Guild, an accredited judge for the Cookery and Food Association, a member of the Craft Guide of Chefs and a Fellow of the Institute of British Bakers.


Alan Dunn Tropical flowers and foilage

Alan Dunn, needs no introduction, really a very talented published flower creator, based in the north east of the UK, Newcastle. Alans calm easy going persona is quite aparent, as I also attended a couple of demonstrations later at the show.

His preferred medium to work in, is Cold Porcelaine rather than flower paste. He explained that he has longer time to shape and to mould and when it dries it is less likely to break, it also shrinks slightly too, creating a finer detail.He does use flower paste too.In this class we had a choice of what to use the girls from Oz used medina flower paste from Filomena.

I attended a cold porcelaine class almost 17 years ago in the UK at my local community college and I made napkin rings and flowers and a butterfly.The instructor seemed to have all the cake tools that I used, rolling pin, board scissors and similar cutters and she also used Ponds hand cream to prevent the porceline from sticking to the board and her hands.If you use this medium, it must not come into  contact with the cake, so a posy pick can be used or placed onto a plaque as a barrier on the decorated cake or cupcake.

Alan also shared some funny stories throughout the 2 days and told us about his travel experiences too with his flower workshops.

http://www.alandunnsugarcraft.com/#/links/4526745967



















Day 4 Fairy workshop with Frances McNaughton


Frances owns the business called Frankly Sweet and used to attend the Eastbourne cake decorators guild group that I once belonged to, when I lived in the UK.When I attended the class, at the first break Frances came around to all the students and I introduced myself and told her I was from a group of cake decrators from Oz and she said that she had met me before? I had forgotten but I had met her too!
Frances made the sweet props for Harry Potter and Charlie and the chocolate factory,Chocolate and for several food commercials too.When I met her I had just finished the styling of cakes and food for Bridget Jones and she was at my cake group in Eastourne and we chatted about the film work.......small world eh?
Frances has written several books and now has created tools bang on, to create the figurines and designs,from her book.She has also created dvds too.

http://www.franklysweet.co.uk/



Cake show entries

I entered 2 competitions the fruit cake and the decorated wedding cake.
I transported the top tier with the peony rose flower separate as hand luggage and the cabin crew kindly looked after it in a separate cupboard as the overhead container cupped up when closed so that would have been disastrous!The fruit cake was carefully stored in my suitcase.
Below is the dumy cake reassembled.

I did not receive any certificate,the judges comments were that the piped hearts were not evenly spaced out....they are random piped hearts!
The base cake board is too big???? although within cake schedule  and the flowers lack movement ???????




On the Sunday the fruit cake entries had been judged and allocated  certificates.
My name was next to a burnt shallow sloppy side cake with almond slivers in ! Mary had placed my entry  in for me as I had been in  a class on the Friday and  I was horrified that there had been a mix up.

I spoke to one of the judges and said that there had been a mix up and that was not my cake, he said he would look into it, Mary came over and I told her that it was not my cake and she said she knew that it was not as my sides were beautiful and straight and not burnt.

After a demo that I had booked in for, I then returned and asked the judge what would happen?
He asked me what cake I thought was mine and I said it was either the silver one or the highly recommended one.I told him that I do not bake using nuts in Oz as they sometimes can go rancid.I asked him can he not ask the competitors whether they have the right cakes? He said that not all entries then collect their cakes!

I was bitterly dissapointed as I was also wanting to take the cake to give to my Aunt that I was visiting a week later,I left the burnt entry at the event.
When I spoke to my husband the next day, he said that whoever took my cake home will have surprised the family with a great cake! He always says the right thing.



Now for some medal winners from the rest of our group.
Sheree and Vickys entries and I cannot find  Debs entry!
These 3 girls were working late some nights to finish their entries and what wondeful talent.
Debs made an amazing entry My Fair Lady but I have mistakenly deleted the images.



The crate had a small Koala inside and this was gorgeous.

More blogging info tomorrow as this has took me 3 hrs!





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