1.Mary, my husband recently ordered your vintage cupcakes for my birthday. I was blown away when he presented them to me. What got you started with these special creations?
I was always extremely interested in cooking and baking from an early age, but in school art was what really grab my attention. I had planned on going to either art Collage or the Shannon School of Hotel Management and Catering , but at my parent’s request ‘to first get a broad degree and then follow the others’ I attended UCD where I Graduated with Honors from Commerce and German.
I loved my time at UCD but found the courses’ required readings hard and specially learning a new language as I am dyslexic. I knew that wasn’t the path for me and that I wanted to do something with Art and/or food I just wasn’t sure how yet. Upon graduating from UCD I enrolled at the ‘Ballymaloe Cookery school’ in Cork where I studied (intensely) for 3 months. During my time there I found my self more and more drawn to anything cake or dessert related.
When I graduated from Ballymaloe I was extremely lucky to get an opportunity to work a week in Dublin’s Michelin star restaurant: ‘Chapter One’. I just loved it there. Everybody was so lovely and friendly. Soooo… I just kept coming back. I ended up working there under the FAS program for almost 7 months. During my time there, I explored my passion for pastry and trained under head Pastry Chef Darren Hogarty (Valrhona’s Patisserie Champion 2010) alongside owner and Michelin starred Head Chef: Ross Lewis.
During my time at Chapter One I also competed in TV3’s National Cookery Competition, ‘Head Chef’, where I placed overall 2nd. I was also lucky enough to participate in the preparation of the pastry portion of the dinner for the visiting Queen of England.
I loved my time at Chapter One, but still knew it wasn’t 100% what I wanted to do. I went to work At 98fm in Dublin (so I could pay my bills ) while I decided what it was I wanted to do. I decided to open my own bespoke cake company ‘Cake Chick’ while I worked at 98fm and in June this year I decided to take the jump and focus 100% on the cakes. I had finally found my mix of art, food and business.
2. Every cupcake is like a work of art. Do you create every topping yourself?
Every topping on my cakes are all hand made. It’s great as it gives me the freedom to be as creative with them as I like or to tailor an order to exactly what the customer wants. However the down side is that they take longer, which in turn costs more, which can be hard to explain to customers when they are comparing prices with larger retailers who can mass produce.
3. Tell me about your kitchen: what do you love, what do you wish was different?
I work from my apartment at the moment that I share with my boyfriend. It’s a great kitchen for an apartment, I have two ovens and granite work tops which are prefect for the type of work I do .It also has a 6 ring gas hob which is an essential in my opinion. I love
the vintage girly feel so my fuchsia pink Kitchen aid, which I aptly named ‘Betty’ takes pride of place.
What would I change? Well would of course love a bigger kitchen with more storage and counter space while my kitchen is fab for an
apartment , it starts to get very small when I am working all day in it. If I’m honest I would rather not work from home. I’m a VERY
chatty person and find working alone in my apartment gives me cabin fever! I would love to be working in my own bakery with lots of
people coming in and out so I can reach my ‘words spoken a day’ quota, Which at the moment my poor boyfriend and my friends are
subjected to in the evenings.
4. Have you always been a baker?
Nope baking is something that I came to in the past few years.
5. Butter cream icing is my weakness. What is that one thing you simply cannot resist?
Cheese! I’m a savory person, but just REALLY enjoy making cakes and cupcakes …. All things pretty.
6. The beach or mountains?
Give me a beach, cocktails and bikini any day. I’m not the best at the auld exercise so I think the mountains would do well as a back drop to the beach!
7. What songs are playing in your house today?
Nikki Minaj is blasting at the moment in my apartment ( I’m sure the neighbors love me) any thing dancy I find is great for getting you going in the kitchen but I have quite the eclectic play list. It tends to bounce between any thing from the likes of Nikki , to Etta James to Phil Collins to classical!
8. Favourite coffee corner in Dublin?
It has got to be Juniors on Bath Ave… the best Sandwiches /salads and coffee in town.
9. Dream lunch with friends. Tell us about it.
Were we not just talking about the beach, cocktails and bikinis?
{Cake Chick believes that cake should not only be beautiful to look at but also fabulous to eat. Each of her cakes are handmade using only the finest ingredients and locally sourced Irish produce where possible. Opened in 2011 in Dublin by Mary Scott, Cake Chick is your ultimate destination for all things cake! Images by our very own Claire Burge.}
