sponsored offers best-deals-of-the-day 8342709 ----- # Peggy Porschen Cakes paints the town pink ## The culinary talent behind the business and her husband, Bryn Morrow, explain how Peggy became "one of the world's top cake artists". ![Peggy Porschen and Bryn Morrow][1] Image 1 of 5 Peggy Porschen and Bryn Morrow Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes ![Peggy Porschen cupcakes][2] Image 1 of 5 Peggy Porschen cupcakes Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes ![Peggy Porschen Cakes on Elizabeth Street, Belgravia][3] Image 1 of 5 Peggy Porschen Cakes on Elizabeth Street, Belgravia Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes ![The interior of Peggy Porschen Cakes][4] Image 1 of 5 The interior of Peggy Porschen Cakes Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes ![Peggy Porschen cupcakes and her famous pink packaging][5] Image 1 of 5 Peggy Porschen cupcakes and her famous pink packaging Photo: Peggy Porschen By Katy Gwilliam 11:58AM GMT 23 Feb 2011 Located on a quiet Belgravia street corner is a unique cake shop, emanating a certain fairytale charm from within its pale pink façade. Delicate creations in soft pastel shades are arranged enticingly behind the windows, drawing in a range of passers-by and regular customers. When we first arrive at the parlour, Peggy reveals that she and Bryn, her husband and business partner, are recovering from a 3am finish that morning. "We were asked to contribute to a cake exhibition in Selfridges to coincide with London Fashion Week." The 'Eat the Designer' event brought together leading cake makers and food artists, who were commissioned to create cakes inspired by top fashion designers from around the world. "We were lucky enough to be asked to create a cake designed by Karl Lagerfeld. My team and I worked on the actual cake but Bryn and I were at Selfridges all night setting up the stand." Bryn recreates the scene: "our interpretation of Karl's design sat on a plinth right next to his sketch." After speaking to Peggy and Bryn for only a few minutes, it immediately becomes clear why the family-run patisserie has had such an impact, despite being open for a matter of months. "Everything is the best of the best and this is what we always strive to achieve. The way I see it is, if you have a brand at a certain level, everything should be at that level. From the stationery and pink receipts to the furniture and the crockery, everything should be at a high standard." Peggy's passion for baking stems from her childhood. A love of cake eating developed into a desire to produce her own creations and in 1998 she moved from her home in Germany to study Patisserie, specialising in British sugar craft. "London was a great place to learn. There is a strong sugar-craft tradition here and I was inspired by the skill and talent required from the industry." After working as a Pastry Chef at The Lanesborough hotel, Peggy's first cake- decorating job was at the German-run bakery, Konditor and Cook. "The Master Baker had a wacky, non-traditional approach to decorating and it was great to get my foot in the door there. I soon started to acquire my own commissions and my first big job was to produce 500 Faberge eggs for Elton John's White Tie & Tiara Ball, which was quickly followed by Stella McCartney's wedding." ## Related Articles * [Food news][6] 02 Jul 2009 Catering for such exclusive events proved to be a turning point for Peggy and in 2005 she published her first book, Pretty Party Cakes (Quadrille Publishing, 1 April 2005). "The book adopts a fresh approach to the English traditional sugar craft and features cakes of the 21st century." After the release of her book, the business went from strength to strength and Peggy soon became the exclusive wedding cake partner of Fortnum & Mason. "Wedding business is our flagship. This part of the business will never be expanded because it's our baby, whereas there is huge scope to develop the parlour, academy and online sections," Bryn comments. The husband and wife team makes the process of setting up a business sound easy as Bryn jokes "Peggy buys the pretty things and I figure out how to pay for them!" However, aside from the humour, the couple is keen to highlight the many merits of working together: "Peggy and I push each other". Peggy adds, "Bryn was my harshest critic but it was a positive criticism. It's the sort of criticism you can accept and we always know we can be very honest with each other." Having previously worked as a chef for Gordon Ramsay, Bryn also has a culinary background. Although he now runs the commercial side of Peggy Porschen Cakes, he used to help his wife with the baking during busy periods. "When we were preparing a thousand cookies for Christmas, they all used to be hand rolled. Sometimes I would spend 10 hours rolling and baking, while the girls did all the decorating." Bryn still occasionally spends time on the frontline, dealing with customers in the shop. "It's really nice to get feedback and through this we've decided to add a few things to the menu and change a couple of items. When people tell us it's the best cake they've ever eaten, it's such a confidence boost." Although the main clientele tends to be female, the parlour has wider appeal. On Valentine's Day the shop was brimming with boyfriends and husbands desperate to buy last-minute gifts for their beloveds, while groups of business men frequent the cafe for meetings. "It's really reassuring to see the regulars keep coming. It means we're doing something right." Bryn reminisces about a particular defining moment for him. "I recently attended a seminar at Google in Victoria, London. When I revealed I was from 'the pink cake shop', they exclaimed: "You're in the pink cake shop? We know the pink cake shop. We love that place!"" Peggy and Bryn exude an immense passion and subtle pride throughout the interview. We close on a few words of wisdom for others in the process of setting up a business. "Stay true to your own style and to yourself. At the start it's a huge part of your life; it's a huge responsibility and you invest every waking hour into the business. However, once you get to a certain point, you've got to start letting go and trusting other people to do things for you. This is the challenge we're currently facing." With such an impressive record, we're keen to discover whether there's anything in the pipeline for the business. Peggy's enigmatic response implies that there is always something just around the corner, whether it's a wedding or a star-studded event. Without giving too much away, she leaves us guessing: "it's early in the year, so we'll have to wait and see what will happen this year." 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