310 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
310 lines
11 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sponsored
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offers
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best-deals-of-the-day
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8342709
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-----
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# Peggy Porschen Cakes paints the town pink
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## The culinary talent behind the business and her husband, Bryn Morrow,
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explain how Peggy became "one of the world's top cake artists".
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![Peggy Porschen and Bryn Morrow][1]
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Image 1 of 5
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Peggy Porschen and Bryn Morrow Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes
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![Peggy Porschen cupcakes][2]
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Image 1 of 5
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Peggy Porschen cupcakes Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes
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![Peggy Porschen Cakes on Elizabeth Street, Belgravia][3]
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Image 1 of 5
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Peggy Porschen Cakes on Elizabeth Street, Belgravia Photo: Peggy Porschen
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Cakes
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![The interior of Peggy Porschen Cakes][4]
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Image 1 of 5
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The interior of Peggy Porschen Cakes Photo: Peggy Porschen Cakes
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![Peggy Porschen cupcakes and her famous pink packaging][5]
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Image 1 of 5
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Peggy Porschen cupcakes and her famous pink packaging Photo: Peggy Porschen
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By Katy Gwilliam 11:58AM GMT 23 Feb 2011
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Located on a quiet Belgravia street corner is a unique cake shop, emanating a
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certain fairytale charm from within its pale pink façade. Delicate creations
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in soft pastel shades are arranged enticingly behind the windows, drawing in a
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range of passers-by and regular customers.
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When we first arrive at the parlour, Peggy reveals that she and Bryn, her
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husband and business partner, are recovering from a 3am finish that morning.
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"We were asked to contribute to a cake exhibition in Selfridges to coincide
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with London Fashion Week." The 'Eat the Designer' event brought together
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leading cake makers and food artists, who were commissioned to create cakes
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inspired by top fashion designers from around the world. "We were lucky enough
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to be asked to create a cake designed by Karl Lagerfeld. My team and I worked
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on the actual cake but Bryn and I were at Selfridges all night setting up the
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stand." Bryn recreates the scene: "our interpretation of Karl's design sat on
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a plinth right next to his sketch."
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After speaking to Peggy and Bryn for only a few minutes, it immediately
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becomes clear why the family-run patisserie has had such an impact, despite
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being open for a matter of months. "Everything is the best of the best and
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this is what we always strive to achieve. The way I see it is, if you have a
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brand at a certain level, everything should be at that level. From the
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stationery and pink receipts to the furniture and the crockery, everything
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should be at a high standard."
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Peggy's passion for baking stems from her childhood. A love of cake eating
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developed into a desire to produce her own creations and in 1998 she moved
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from her home in Germany to study Patisserie, specialising in British sugar
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craft. "London was a great place to learn. There is a strong sugar-craft
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tradition here and I was inspired by the skill and talent required from the
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industry."
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After working as a Pastry Chef at The Lanesborough hotel, Peggy's first cake-
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decorating job was at the German-run bakery, Konditor and Cook. "The Master
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Baker had a wacky, non-traditional approach to decorating and it was great to
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get my foot in the door there. I soon started to acquire my own commissions
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and my first big job was to produce 500 Faberge eggs for Elton John's White
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Tie & Tiara Ball, which was quickly followed by Stella McCartney's wedding."
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## Related Articles
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* [Food news][6]
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02 Jul 2009
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Catering for such exclusive events proved to be a turning point for Peggy and
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in 2005 she published her first book, Pretty Party Cakes (Quadrille
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Publishing, 1 April 2005). "The book adopts a fresh approach to the English
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traditional sugar craft and features cakes of the 21st century."
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After the release of her book, the business went from strength to strength and
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Peggy soon became the exclusive wedding cake partner of Fortnum & Mason.
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"Wedding business is our flagship. This part of the business will never be
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expanded because it's our baby, whereas there is huge scope to develop the
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parlour, academy and online sections," Bryn comments.
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The husband and wife team makes the process of setting up a business sound
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easy as Bryn jokes "Peggy buys the pretty things and I figure out how to pay
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for them!" However, aside from the humour, the couple is keen to highlight the
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many merits of working together: "Peggy and I push each other". Peggy adds,
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"Bryn was my harshest critic but it was a positive criticism. It's the sort of
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criticism you can accept and we always know we can be very honest with each
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other."
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Having previously worked as a chef for Gordon Ramsay, Bryn also has a culinary
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background. Although he now runs the commercial side of Peggy Porschen Cakes,
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he used to help his wife with the baking during busy periods. "When we were
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preparing a thousand cookies for Christmas, they all used to be hand rolled.
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Sometimes I would spend 10 hours rolling and baking, while the girls did all
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the decorating." Bryn still occasionally spends time on the frontline, dealing
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with customers in the shop. "It's really nice to get feedback and through this
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we've decided to add a few things to the menu and change a couple of items.
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When people tell us it's the best cake they've ever eaten, it's such a
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confidence boost."
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Although the main clientele tends to be female, the parlour has wider appeal.
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On Valentine's Day the shop was brimming with boyfriends and husbands
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desperate to buy last-minute gifts for their beloveds, while groups of
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business men frequent the cafe for meetings. "It's really reassuring to see
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the regulars keep coming. It means we're doing something right." Bryn
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reminisces about a particular defining moment for him. "I recently attended a
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seminar at Google in Victoria, London. When I revealed I was from 'the pink
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cake shop', they exclaimed: "You're in the pink cake shop? We know the pink
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cake shop. We love that place!""
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Peggy and Bryn exude an immense passion and subtle pride throughout the
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interview. We close on a few words of wisdom for others in the process of
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setting up a business. "Stay true to your own style and to yourself. At the
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start it's a huge part of your life; it's a huge responsibility and you invest
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every waking hour into the business. However, once you get to a certain point,
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you've got to start letting go and trusting other people to do things for you.
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This is the challenge we're currently facing."
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With such an impressive record, we're keen to discover whether there's
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anything in the pipeline for the business. Peggy's enigmatic response implies
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that there is always something just around the corner, whether it's a wedding
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or a star-studded event. Without giving too much away, she leaves us guessing:
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"it's early in the year, so we'll have to wait and see what will happen this
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year."
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Go to [Telegraph Selected][7] for exceptional, exclusive daily offers on
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[1]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01832/Peggy_Porschen_and_1
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832816c.jpg
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[2]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01828/Peggy_Porschen_cup_1
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[3]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01828/Peggy_Porschen_Cak_1
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828971f.jpg
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[4]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01828/The_interior_of_Pe_1
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828968f.jpg
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[5]: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01828/Peggy_Porschen_cup_1
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828965f.jpg
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