Three days of Cake Heaven…

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Vicki

Cake International – The Cake Decorating & Baking Show arrived at ExCeL, London 27-29 April in a flurry of cupcakes, cake pops and all the cake baking and decorating supplies you could dream of! The long-awaited sister show to Cake International – The Sugarcraft & Cake Decoration Show at the NEC in November, had high expectations to meet – and meet and surpass them they did!

Winner of the Great British Bake Off, Jo Wheatley, opened the show to a raucous reception and crowds of people who had been queuing for hours to be some of the first people into the show. After cutting the ribbon with a flourish, the eagerly awaiting visitors descended onto the halls, and into cake heaven!

Over 80 exhibitors from across the UK offered cutting-edge cake decorating and baking supplies, and plenty of expert advice to the scores of cake enthusiasts. One area which drew many gasps of admiration and delight was the Competition Area – with classes ranging from Wedding Cakes and Novelty Cakes to Cupcake Class and A Decorative Exhibit, there were so many wonderful entries to be amazed by. The coveted Best in Show Prize went to Terry Tang from Liverpool for his stunning ‘Chinese Tree’ inspired creation entered into Class K – a Decorative Exhibit. The Best in Show, International Exhibit, went to Deidre Kavanagh from Ireland for her incredible ‘Cat tied down by mice’ cake which certainly did look too good to eat! This cake was entered into Class E – Sculpted Novelty Cake.

As well as opening the show, Jo Wheatley offered her expertise in Question and Answer sessions before appearing in The Bakery Theatre alongside guest chef Paul da Costa Greaves showcasing a couple of her favourite recipes, macaroons with two types of delicious fillings and irresistible cookies!

Jo said, “It has been really fantastic being a part of Cake International, especially at its
first show at ExCeL. There were so many fans of baking and cake decorating and it shows just how much of a revival home baking has had over the last few years. Since winning The Great British Bake Off I have had the most amazing year, what with my cookery school, blog and new book coming out, but there is nothing quite like getting into my kitchen and whipping up a delicious treat. I hope that people will be racing home to try my macaroons as well – they are my favourite recipe at the moment!”

We completely fell in love with the Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes exquisite buttercream artistry – and we were lucky enough to sample one of their cupcake creations! Now to say they were delicious would be an understatement – we could have quite happily lived off their cupcakes for three days! Here’s Valeri and Christina from Queen of Hearts, posing with their cakes.

There’s almost too many highlights of the show to mention! Visitors flocked to A Taste of Sugarcraft Workshops run by Inspired Creations, where they could learn Royal Icing Skills, Modelling Skills using Sugarpaste and Marzipan, plus Sugar Flower Skills. The Demonstration Theatres were once again very popular, with our International Guest Kelvin Chua and Stephanie Weightman both hosting exciting demonstrations amongst many other prolific industry experts. Chocoholics were easily tempted by the Chocolate Workshops run by David Leslie Cakes, plus the Giant Pink Flamingo Cake by Tracey’s Cakes, made completely out of chocolate, drew in many gasps of admiration. Renshaw also hosted a varying array of Workshops daily, plus the LIVE PME Team Challenge Extravaganza produced some amazing results. There were also plenty of Jubliee themed cakes and supplies to enjoy!

As you can see from this selection of pictures, there were some truly outstanding creations to be seen at the show. Keep your eyes peeled as we will be uploading a full gallery to our webiste in due course.

Don’t forget, Cake International – The Sugarcraft & Cake Decoration Show is coming to the NEC, Birmingham from the 9-11 November, and you can expect another three days of cake heaven! There will be an abundance of cake decorating supplies to discover and a host of demonstrations, workshops and special features to enjoy, plus prestigious competitions for both beginners and experts alike – just like the recent London Cake event, the show really will be a true cake enthusiast’s dream! What’s more, this longstanding show will also be running alongside three other successful ICHF shows, Hobbycrafts, Crafts for Christmas and Art Materials Live.

We hope you enjoyed Cake International – The Cake Decorating & Baking Show as much as we did. The world is going cake mad, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that!

Until next time,

The ICHF Team x

All about Cake!

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Vicki

We have some very exciting news for all you cake enthusiasts – if you haven’t already heard, we have a brand new Cake Show coming to ExCeL in London, on 27-29 April 2012!

Cake International – The Cake Decorating & Baking Show promises to showcase an equally impressive range of features, demonstrations, displays and competitions as it’s sister show, Cake International – The Sugarcraft & Cake Decorating Show at the NEC. Whether you’re a beginner or an expert in cake decorating and baking, there will be a fabulous variety of supplies and features to discover, products to try out and demonstrations from the experts that you won’t want to miss!

Now we’ve got that wonderful news out of the way, it’s time for a recap from Cake International – The Sugarcraft & Cake Decorating Show 2011! For those who visited the show over the 4-6 November you’ll know what an amazing and successful time was had by all. Thousands of visitors flocked to the NEC, Birmingham, (with advance tickets even selling out for the Saturday!) and by 9am on the Friday the crowds were forming… with more than 100 exhibitors over three days, the show was the biggest it has ever been!

Visitors and competitors had come from all over the world to the show, including as far afield as Peru, America, South Africa, Holland and even Australia! And they certainly weren’t disappointed. The atmosphere was buzzing, and the air filled with gasps of wonderment and awe as visitors caught sight of the simply stunning competition entries – tables were lined with entries for categories including Novelty, Figurine and Wedding. Some of the entries had to be seen to be believed, as the detail and work gone into them was astonishing. CLICK HERE to find out the full list of winners and runners up!

Chocolate lovers rejoiced in the irresistible new chocolate flavoured goodies from Renshaw, while Leeds City College impressed visitors with their expert chocolate techniques. The Baking Theatre with Paul Da Costa Greaves certainly drew in the crowds with live baking tips and tricks, as did Sharon Essop’s and Paula Macleod’s expert demonstrations on Cake Pops, Cupcakes and Cake Stencils in The Cake Decorators’ Kitchen.

Cupcake fever has swept the nation, and nowhere more so than at Cake International! The Knightsbridge PME Live Competitions were a great success, with the standard of work exceptionally high this year – CLICK HERE to discover the full list of finalists and winners! One area which was extremely popular was the Women’s Weekly Area – in celebration of their Centenary, the iconic women’s magazine held fabulous Make & Take sessions, where visitors could decorate their own cupcake. Decorations and toppings were supplied by Snip & Swirl, Buy ‘n’ Bake and Frost & Snow, and some truly wonderful creations were made. We even had a go at creating these ICHF cupcakes – not the most professional of decorating skills I think you’ll agree!

With a host of demonstrations to watch, inspiring displays to see, and an unrivalled variety of supplies to discover, there was never any doubt that sugarcrafters and cake decorators left the show fully inspired to start creating their very own masterpieces! And now with another Cake Show date to add to your diary for next year, there’s plenty of opportunity to hone your cake baking, decorating and sugarcrafting skills.

And don’t forget to check our website for the latest Cake Show news!

The ICHF Team x

The Magic of Christmas at the NEC

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Vicki

Hello to all our loyal blog followers!

We must apologise for the delay in blog postings, but we’re back with plenty of exciting show news from our Crafts for Christmas, Hobbycrafts and Art Materials-Live shows at the NEC, Birmingham, which took place over last weekend!

Christmas had certainly arrived at the NEC towards the end of last week, as the ICHF team were busy setting up the show, arranging magical Christmas displays and an eyecatching Christmas showcase, which included a host of wonderful products from exhibitors.

It was on the following day, Thursday 3rd November, that the Christmas spirit really took hold! Queues of eager creative crafters and art lovers waited anxiously for the show to begin, and as the doors opened at 9.30am, they poured into the arena which had been transformed into a creative and inspirational extravaganza!

Christmas melodies from the Sax on TV Quartet filled the air, and the irresistible smells drifting from the Food Court attracted many noses straight away… with a range of luxury chocolates, Welsh wines and liqueurs, fresh curry sauces, handmade giant pies and various confectionary, you could spend hours wandering the stalls looking (and sampling!) everything. We had to try the Sparkling Gold Bubbly from Perfect Tipple, and we weren’t disappointed. As well as looking gorgeous, the champagne tasted delicious and would make the perfect Christmas gift for a glamorous family member or friend!

Arona Khan and her internationally acclaimed gift wrapping skills drew in the crowds, and the handsome Rocking Horses on display at The British Toymakers Guild showcased the wonderful but rare talent of traditional toymaking. There was some beautiful and unusual jewellery for sale at the Margaret MacEvoy and Isobel’s Designer Jewellery stands, while at the Prima Craft Theatre, you could discover how to make Candles and a Christmas Wreath. We were especially enchanted by the artworks on offer at Love Live Laugh – produced by Karen, the exquisite detailing and the stories behind the pictures truly warmed our hearts!

The halls filled up quickly, and many exhibitors we spoke to, including WOW! Embossing Powders and Jumping Clay, had their Make & Take Workshops slots completely booked up! The Workshop Area and On Stand Mini Make & Takes proved to be very popular, and were the perfect opportunity to get a headstart on those unique Christmas gifts and cards. There was endless craft supplies on offer in Hobbycrafts – with everything from beads, sequins, buttons and fabrics, to papercrafts, knitting, tools and ‘make it yourself’ kits, craft enthusiasts weren’t disappointed.

Wandering over into the Art Materials-Live area of the Hall, we were overwhelmed with the buzz of activity going on around us – professional artists were demonstrating and showcasing their extraordinary talents, including Jane Booth who we avidly watched painting her pet Poodle Penny! The SAA offered demonstrations and hands-on areas from three expert artists, while Pebeo, The Art Shop Skipton and Hugh Miller had their very own dedicated area which showcased the innovative ‘People’s Painting’ – a ‘paint by numbers’ for visitors based on one of Hugh Miller’s own stunning artworks. While we haven’t got a finished picture for you today, we will do soon, so watch this space! The Artists Theatre also proved to be a pull for visitors, which saw Linda Wain and Humbrol Art amongst others putting on educational presentions.

A special mention goes to Nathan Wyburn, who made a picture of Jedward entirely out of Marmite and white toast! Love it or hate it, you cannot fail to be impressed with his rather unique skills…

The show only got better and better over the weekend, and with Cake International opening on the Friday, the crowds became even bigger. We will have a full run down on the Cake Show for you with some lovely pictures, so don’t forget to check back early next week.

We hope you enjoyed the show as much as we did, and came away with lots of inspirational ideas for your own creative Christmas!

Until next time,

The ICHF Team x