Diary of a Cookshop by Ali and Mel Done Directors of Cook To Perfection, King’s Lynn. You can read Diary of a Cookshop in full in Housewares Magazine. Don't receive the magazine? To find out more click here.

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Cake creations, cake parties, cake clubs...

29/05/2012 11:55:36



April has been very 'cakey', with customers posting pictures of their fabulous creations onto our Facebook wall. True to form, we've had an influx of requests for products emanating from the recent publication of Cake Decorating magazine [a new part-work weekly series that teaches cake and cupcake decoration for beginners] which everyone seems to be buying at the moment.

The latest craze to hit the UK from the States is the Gender Cake Party. Instead of prospective parents finding out the sex of their baby at the scan, the ultrasound technician puts the result in a sealed envelope. This is then taken to the baker, who makes a cake with either pink or blue icing in the middle.

The couple then invite their friends and family over and the cake is cut, so everyone finds out the sex of the baby together. We already know this is happening locally and I think it's a cute idea.

I have started the King's Lynn branch of the Clandestine Cake Club. It's a national organisation with over 100 clubs and it's all about cake - not cupcakes, muffins, whoopies, pies, cakepops or tarts - but cake! As the organiser, I book the venue to which the members will bring their cakes, and a guest if they wish, but the destination is kept secret until near the date - a few tempting clues are divulged in the meantime.

The theme I have picked for our first meeting on May 22 is Tutti Frutti Tuesday, which means that all cakes must have fruit in them or on them somewhere. The event is publicised on the Clandestine Cake Club website and by us through the shop's Twitter and Facebook page.

Basically, it's an excellent excuse to meet up, eat cake, enjoy a couple of drinks and have a good old chinwag.

I can often be found on eBay: browsing, that is, not for sale myself - although Ali might be tempted at times! When the local radio station tweeted that it would be selling a one-off advertising package on eBay, I decided to keep an eye on it, just to see how much it went for.

However, when my phone alerted me that there were only a few minutes left of the auction, I was surprised to find it hadn't reached anywhere near the amount I thought it would. So a cheeky bid with two seconds to spare secured us an eight-week marketing campaign for a song. I did have to own up to Ali afterwards though - well, it is his eBay account!

You can read Diary of a Cookshop in full in the May/June 2012 edition of Housewares Magazine. Don't receive the magazine? To find out more click here.

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