Cake Decorator

She helped create the masterpiece that was Bec’s and Lleyton’s wedding cake, but it was Paris Cutler’s not-so-sweet experience at her own nuptials that got her thinking about a new career.

“I had a revolting cake at my wedding, which I paid a huge amount for,” she says. Cutler, 33, was in recruitment before her cake-making career. She worked at Paddington cake shop, Sweet Art, before she and husband, Billy, took over Planet Cake in 2003.

“I always had an interest in design and food and I saw a gap in the market,” she says. Aside from baking, they also run cake-decorating courses.

Cutler says the classes were born out of a huge demand from customers wanting to learn their trade secrets.

“We had these people saying: ‘Please can you teach us’,” Cutler says. “Cake shops are really secretive; they are like couture dress houses, they won’t even tell you where they buy their icing from.

“Traditionally people have gone to cake-decorating courses with the cake guild or with a TAFE or a cake-decorating school, none of which now exist in Sydney.

“A lot of people coming to me were already quite advanced at cake-decoratingand really wanted to improve one type of skill set or to take it to a professional skill level.

“They also wanted to learn cake-decorating techniques, including the use of airbrushing or using gloss and gels, or putting together 3D cakes. I expected people to be in their 40s and 50s but most were aged 25 to 35.”

Planet Cake runs 12 cake-decorating courses starting from Beginners 101 or cupcakes right through to two-tier wedding cakes.

“I used only Planet Cake staff up until last year and I thought: ‘This is ridiculous, I really need to open this up into the rest of the market’, Cutler says.

“I approached Sarah Cowie who is a cake-decorator in her own right and has her own business. She is specialising in the wedding cakes.

“I also have Greg Cleary who owns Sweetums in Brisbane. Cleary is probably the best flower-maker in the country.”

Planet Cake courses run from February to September. Most courses run over two Sundays at Danks Street Depot at Waterloo.

How to be … a cake decorator
You can gain work without formal qualifications but entry opportunities may be improved if you have some training. For further information contact Planet Cake on 02 9810 3843 or visit www.planetcake.com.au