Cake

Chef Nicholas### LodgeThe InternationalSugar Art CollectionTreasured in the cake community for being a friendlycake artist, tutor and judge, Chef Nicholas Lodge is anexpert in the field of sugar art and sugar flowers. Nicholashas received a series of accolades throughout his career,having created cakes for high-end hotels, celebrities andeven royalty. He has been sharing his knowledge andskills through classes, books and DVDs for over 35 years.Achieving great success with The International Sugar ArtCollection (ISAC) and The International School of Sugarand Confectionary Arts, both founded with his businesspartner, Scott Ewing, in 1992, Nicholas is now also theNorth American Brand Ambassador for Renshaw. Wespoke to Nicholas about his career so far and his plans forthe future...INTERVIEWTell us about your familyI grew up in Chelmsford, Essex in the UK. My father was anengineer and my mother worked in administration for MarconiRadio. I am the eldest of three children. My middle brother,Michael, is an air conditioning engineer, and my youngestbrother, Neil, is in sales. I was so lucky to have parents whoencouraged me to follow my dreams, allowing me to follow mypassion into the world of pastry and sugar arts.What is your background?I started in baking and pastry and then moved into cakedecorating, then finally, into teaching – my true love andpassion. I decided as a small child that I wanted to become achef. I had no idea at that time that I could become a pastrychef without being a chef first. Through guidance frommy parents and my home economics teacher, I decided tospecialise in baking and pastry arts, eventually moving intosugar arts.Do you remember your first paid cake order?My first paid cake was when I was 16 years old. It was a twotier royal iced fruit cake for a wedding. It was decorated withpink sugar roses! Unfortunately, that was 38 years ago and I donot have a high resolution photo of that cake!