Meet Our South London Bakers

It’s difficult to imagine how an Honours degree in Mathematics, a Masters in Computational Methods for Aeronautics and a career in auditing would have led Billie to train as a Pastry Chef at Le Cordon Bleu.

It is even more difficult to imagine how Billie could be making her incredible desserts - one of which was a replica for the Queen and Prince Philip’s 70th wedding anniversary for a show on ITV- after only baking professionally since 2016 (pictured right). What’s more impressive, Billie would go on to open up her very own successful baking business while also working part-time as a freelance accountant.

Billie actually cites her background as one of her strengths that thrusted her in the world of dessert-making: there is an underlying link of precision and attention to detail that is necessary to be good in all these fields.  She weighs things, as she told us, “to the microgram.” 

Her love of food, as most of our bakers agree, was one that dates back to her childhood. Meal time was a social time, and one where everyone connected as a family. Her mother is from the Philippines and, as a child, their parties would always include a wonderfully light, buttercream covered Chiffon cake (which Billie now claims as her favourite!).

Billie remembers as far back as the age of 12, she would stare in wonderment at Mary Berry and Delia Smith on her TV, writing down their recipes and trying to recreate their treats. While most British people can claim awe of Mary Berry’s treats and her Great British Bake Off presenting skills, very few can say that the first thing they baked was her fork biscuits.

Following in the footsteps of one of her baking heroes, Billie applied to Le Cordon Bleu, one of the most prestigious culinary schools, where she thrived. During her time, she assisted in recreating the 9ft tall, ornately decorated cake that was created by Eddie Spence for the Royal Wedding. The months and months of hard work, long hours, and intense piping was worth it to see it finally unveiled at Chelsea Pensioners. How incredible is that?

Billie’s concentration, determination and precision are some of her most valued qualities: touchwood, Billie has never had any “baking disasters.” Planning ahead, organising, expecting the unexpected and working well under pressure, Billie is built for all the extravagant cakes that come her way and makes them perfect for the day of delivery. The secret? A stress-free kitchen.

Even when we sat down to ask her about a ‘day in the life’ of her life, Billie instantly said she’s always happiest when she knows she can “spend the rest of the day baking.” Even though baking can sometimes be stressful with deadlines and long hours, she has a supportive family that gives her the time and space to be as creative with her work as possible.

Even if she has no impending deadlines for the day, Billie uses this as an opportunity to experiment and do some research to develop her recipes. She even has little helpers and gets her kids involved! Baking, for Billie, is fulfilling from start to finish: the absolute best part, for her, is the thought of making someone happy and bringing a smile to their face from her bakes. She claims to be a “total feeder” and the joy brought to other people from all types of food is a huge motivation for her to bake.

If you want a smile on your face, order a cake with Billie now at https://mybaker.co/pages/meet-our-bakers/Billie and get your bespoke cake!

John - Our Musical Baker

This week we had the pleasure of speaking with John, one of our brilliant bakers here at MY BAKER! John’s baking career started later in life. Never having baked as a child, he took it up as a hobby just a few years ago, after following the challenges on The Great British Bake Off. He very quickly realised that he had a talent for baking and an eye for creative detail!

During the day, John works in finance for RADA, then by night he spends his evening as a conductor and a composer, working with many local music festivals and composer groups! In between this already manic schedule, he spends his free time in the kitchen baking and cake decorating! Sleep? No, he doesn’t seem to need it!

Despite his hectic schedule every day, John goes out of his way to finish every cake to perfection and deliver in pristine condition (even if it means delivering a cake on foot in the snow). What keeps him going? “The pleasure it gives seeing your cake being enjoyed, knowing that you’ve used the best ingredients to create something that will be remembered”.

Always keen to learn new skills from the very best and improve as an all-round baker, John has attended several cake workshops on baking and cake decorating hosted by well-known bakers including Bake Off winners, Jo Wheatley, Frances Quinn and John Whaite, master patissier Eric Lanlard, chocolatier Paul A. Young and professional baker Mich Turner, MBE.

John has created some stunning masterpieces in his baking repertoire. From pug face cupcakes to fresh floral drip cakes to 3 tier wedding cakes!

Looking to order a cake from John? Submit a request at https://mybaker.co/pages/meet-our-bakers/John

Gemma - Our Paramedic Baker

Meet Gemma, a baker who always saves the day! As both a paramedic and a baker, Gemma finds the time to create beautifully bespoke cakes, whilst also working for the NHS.

Gemma only recently took the plunge to officially start her own cake business, but already had dozens of tried and tested recipes to work with. Her family as well as colleagues at work most definitely enjoyed taste testing any recipes she experimented with. Gemma's favourite flavours to make (and eat) are carrot cake and the classic Victoria sponge with fresh cream and strawberries.  A typical day for Gemma consists of a 12-hour shift (either day or night) with the NHS followed by baking to fulfil customer orders. "Unfortunately, most orders come in at the weekend, which can be pretty challenging" says Gemma. "I've had to stay up around the clock on several occasions to get big orders​ finished."

One of Gemma's favourite cakes to date, was a joint birthday cake for a father and daughter.

Satisfying both interests, she created a half and half cake with Batman and In the Night Garden themes. We asked Gemma to tell us about any baking disasters. "When I first started making cupcakes, I used a tablespoon (instead of a teaspoon) of baking powder. Needless to say, I ended up with more cake mix outside the cases when they were ready to come out of the oven!"

Gemma explains that the best part of being a baker is "the freedom to let your creativity go wild. I’ve always been a very creative person and love how I can turn someone’s love, passion or hobbies into a cake!" Although both jobs are time consuming, Gemma loves them both and it doesn’t feel like work at all.

Love Gemma's work? Submit a request form with her at https://mybaker.co/pages/meet-our-bakers/Gemma_H

Lily - Our Artist Baker 




At the heart of MY BAKER is our diverse community of independent bakers, each with their own talents and specialities. We want to take some time to introduce you to the talented individuals behind our wonderful cakes and bakes.

This week, we are chatting to Lily. She is based in South London, specialises in spectacular celebration cakes and delicate cupcakes which are beautifully decorated with hand-painted designs.

Inspired by the amazing cakes her mum made her as a child, Lily started to bake cakes for her friends as a teenager. I asked her how she started selling these cakes professionally. ‘After studying Art & History at university I started working in costume design in musical theatre, but I was missing the practical creativity’, says Lily. The artistic baker then quit her job and started working part-time for Biscuiteers, where she learnt to ice biscuits and use a piping bag. ‘I really enjoyed icing, I enjoyed the creativity’, she says. ‘I then started to do my own thing on the side as well, practicing more with piping bags and cake decorating’.

Lily also spent some time working for a high-profile cake designer in Manhattan who taught her a lot about different decorating techniques, and also about the business side of the industry. She has now been baking professionally for 3-4 years. Lily’s cakes are often decorated with stunningly intricate hand-painted patterns. I was curious to know what inspired Lily to start painting her cakes. ‘I have always loved art and painting as a hobby, I learnt in school as I had a really great A-Level teacher’, she says. ‘Then I realised it was completely transferrable to sugar’. She explains that edible paints work in the same way as normal watercolours. ‘You can mix them with alcohol, or sometimes I use rosewater’, she says. Lily sees cake baking and decorating as a form of art, and thinks it is fantastic that the world of cake design is becoming recognised as a platform for artistic expression.

I asked Lily if she has any tips for beginner bakers. ‘There’s a lot of information out there for people that don’t know anything about baking, but I would say it just takes practice. Also, Youtube is amazing for learning new techniques’, she says. Lily also emphasises that the versatility of cakes means that there is something for everyone: ‘there are so many aspects to cakes, you can find an area you really enjoy’. Finally, I asked Lily what her favourite flavour of cake is. She loves the classic flavours (especially carrot) and also almond and lemon. ‘I really like putting citrus zest in the icing!’.

If you love the artistic flare Lily clearly possess why not submit a request form with here at https://mybaker.co/pages/meet-our-bakers/Lily

We hope you enjoyed reading about our wonderful South London bakers, be sure to check out all our bakers profiles https://mybaker.co/pages/meet-our-bakers! With just a few clicks you can order your very own bespoke cake creation.