Last weekend the first ‘Cake & Bake Show’ was held at Earls Court in South West London. The show was a sell out on both the Saturday and
Sunday, and tickets were sold out completely from early September. To address the levels of unexpected demand the organisers extended the opening times of the show so that people could attend later in the afternoon and stay into the evening.
I was teaching a class on the Saturday so I bought tickets to attend the Sunday show. We decided on making it a family day out, so the hubby and little T came along with the promise of tasting cake.
We arrived when the show opened at 10am. It was smaller than I had imagined, but perhaps that’s because the last time I was at Earls court
was for ‘The Ideal Home Show’ which is set over two floors.
Nonetheless I was happy and excited to be surrounded by cake and baking enthusiasts. Throughout the day I even found myself bumping into my previous students, and it was great to hear how they were getting along.
My favourite stands were ‘The Little Venice Company’ ran by Mich Turner and Peggy Porschen’s stand. Both were showcasing amazing wedding
cakes. Peggy also had a small teaching academy build into her stand where they were demonstrating to groups throughout the day.
There was also a wedding cake display featuring various cake designers and their intricate creations, in addition to display’s of gorgeous sweet tables.
There were various stands selling everything from cupcake cases, cake decorating equipment through to sugar veil kits and hand-made marshmallows.
There was an ‘edible beach’ cake decorating competition area, I particularly loved the fish and chip cake and the Brighton beach cakes.
I would have liked to have seen more cakes as there are some incredibly talented cake decorators across the UK. If they introduced more competition categories this would raise the bar further and inspire those who are more experienced.
My little boy had the opportunity of decorating cupcakes and gingerbread men with the lovely Annabel Karmel who was in the Kid’s Kitchen. We
received a lovely AK cloth goodie bag and one of her children’s spaghetti bolognaise meals (with hidden vegetables). I’m not usually a fan of convenience food but I admit it tasted delicious.
It was a pleasure to watch Mary Berry demonstrate a raspberry roulade in the main baking kitchen, and to see Eric Lanlard on the stage later
in the day.
There were many smaller class demonstrations taking place throughout the show. This was a great opportunity to learn new cake decorating skills from the experts. There were some complaints from those who had pre-paid to attend these classes because they were held in an open plan area.
People who hadn’t paid could also easily watch and listen to these classes too.
There were huge queues for the ladies toilets and for the cafes too. Luckily we took sandwiches with us and I purchased coffees as soon as we arrived. I was unaffected but I’m sure the organisers will improve this next time. It was their first show, so there are bound to be a few teething problems. It was busy in the afternoon, however I have attended other established cake shows where it has been busier.
Finally, meeting Paul Hollywood was a personal highlight. I recently enjoyed reviewing his ‘How to Bake’ book on this blog. He’s also on
the judging panel of ‘The Great Britsh Bake Off’ series which is currently running on BBC2. It seemed that everywhere he went women swooned over him. I thought he handled it incredibly well.
Overall my family and I enjoyed the show. For me, it’s great to be in one place with so many like-minded people who love to bake and enjoy
cake!
The next ‘Cake & Bake Show’ is being held in Manchester in April 2013. I look forward to discovering what the organisers have planned for
next year!
If you have any feedback or comments, I’d love to hear from you!
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