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If you weren’t making cakes, what do you think you would Interview
be doing today?
I would be involved in my other passion, interior design. Even
today, I sometimes help friends with interior designs. I also
love floral design so I could, perhaps, have my own flower
business.How would you describe your style in three words?
Classic floral elegance...Why lime green?
It is actually Nicholas Lodge Green PMS368C. Ten years ago,
when we remodelled my teaching classroom at my school in
Atlanta, the International Sugar Art Collection, I was trying to
find an accent colour to go with the existing white, grey and
black walls already in the classroom space. One day, I was
in IKEA and saw a shelf and table in apple green... and that
was it! Everyone now calls this green Nicholas Lodge Green
and it has become my signature colour. The following year,
I introduced the Nicholas Lodge Collection and brand using
this signature colour on my chef’s jackets, products and logo
enhancements.Where do you get your design inspiration?
From my love of fashion, interior design and gardens. As
I travel all over the world, I’m always exposed to new and
exciting things in fashion, interior design, gardens and floristry
that inspire my work and the colours that I use.You make the most amazing flowers. What is your
favourite flower to make?
I have made over 400 different flowers in sugar! I do not have
one favourite, but I love all white flowers, especially highly
fragrant ones like gardenias, jasmine and lily of the valley.You judge a lot of cake shows. What do you love and hate
about this special role?
I love judging cake shows. I take judging very seriously. I have
the position of Head Judge at many of the major cake shows in
the US and overseas. Since many competitors spend countless
hours on their entries, they deserve the respect that their
works be judged fairly and correctly. I select the best team
of judges for each competition, based on their expertise in
specialty areas of the sugar arts.The thing that I hate the most is when the competitor does
not read the rules properly and their entry is not judged or
disqualified because they did not follow the rules. Sometimes
it comes down to a cake being 2cm too tall. Please, READ THE
RULES!Tell us about your books
I have written twelve books for Merehurst and Letts
Publishing as well as several self-published books. Altogether,
my book sales are over two million copies to date.What has been your career highlight so far?
In 2010, I was awarded Top 10 Cake Artist and Top Ten Pastry
Chef in the US. It was the first time those two awards were
given to the same person in a single year. In 2001, I was the
youngest person to be inducted into the Cake Decorating Hall
of Fame.Tell us something that cake decorators will not know
about you
My favourite colour since childhood is actually orange!What are your two favourite cakes to date?
My most recent favourite is a wedding cake I created for Leah
Jacoby, a friend and fellow cake artist. It was a suspended